Townsend Elementary

Townsend Elementary is one of the modestly sized primary schools in Maxton, North Carolina, overseen by Public Schools of Robeson County, with 280 students on its rolls from grades pre-K through 5. Enrollment runs roughly 40% smaller than the state mean of about 467.

Public Schools of Robeson County comprises 36 schools with combined enrollment of 20,856 students; Townsend Elementary is among them.

In terms of who attends, Townsend Elementary shows that Black students make up the majority at 56%. The remainder comes out to 30% Native American, 7% Hispanic, 4% multiracial, 3% White. That is visibly more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 23%.

In terms of school funding signals, Townsend Elementary records 17 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 16.2:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 14.9:1 average. About 99% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), On a poverty-adjusted basis, Townsend Elementary sits in the bottom 10% statewide. Predicted proficiency from the FRL regression is roughly 48.6%; actual is 27.6%, a gap of -21.1 points.

Around the school, the surrounding county (Robeson County) reports that median household earnings sit near $41,978, roughly 15% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 21%. Townsend Elementary is one of 40 public schools in Robeson County (combined enrollment of about 21,625 students).

South Johnson Elementary is the nearest neighboring public school, about 5.4 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a ten-mile radius, suggesting a relatively low-density school footprint. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Townsend Elementary at 8th of 8; the average score across the group is 47.3%.

The school occupies a rural site.

Five-year trend. Townsend Elementary's enrollment has climbed 41% since 2018, when it stood at 199 (now 280). Over the same period, the Black share rose from 47% to 56%. Class-load math has rose: from 13.1:1 in 2018 to 16.2:1 in 2025.

Inside the community feed, recent activity here tends to focus on open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.