Tryon Elementary

Tryon Elementary is a low-enrollment K-5 school in Bessemer City, North Carolina, one of the schools within Gaston County Schools. The school serves 336 students in grades pre-K through 5. Compared to the state average of about 467 students per school, that is 28% below typical.

Tryon Elementary is one of 56 schools operated by Gaston County Schools, a district that educates 30,995 students overall.

On demographics, Tryon Elementary lists that White students make up the majority at 68%. Other groups include 15% Hispanic, 9% Black, 7% multiracial. That composition is broadly in line with Gaston County as a whole.

In terms of school funding signals, The school reports having 26 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 12.7:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 14.9:1 average. Around 98% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. That share is noticeably above Gaston County's rate of about 85%.

After controlling for student poverty, Tryon Elementary performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 49.0%, the actual is 45.0%, a residual of -4.0 points.

Zooming out to the county, Gaston County reports that the typical household earns roughly $67,478 per year, 27% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 10%. Across Gaston County's 61 public schools (combined enrollment of about 35,898 students), Tryon Elementary is one campus in the mix.

John Chavis Middle School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 3.7 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Tryon Elementary at 5th of 8; the average score across the group is 43.0%.

The school occupies a small-town site.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Tryon Elementary has decreased 13%, going from 386 students in 2018 to 336 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share declined from 77% to 68%.

On the community side, posts here usually surface around open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.