W G Pearson Elementary

W G Pearson Elementary is one of the small elementary campuss in Durham, North Carolina, part of Durham Public Schools, with 319 students on its rolls from grades pre-K through 5. Enrollment runs roughly 32% leaner than the state mean of about 467.

Across the 55 schools in Durham Public Schools (31,797 students total), W G Pearson Elementary accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Demographically, W G Pearson Elementary reports that the largest single group is Black, at 58% of enrollment. Other groups include 29% Hispanic, 8% multiracial, 4% White. That is noticeably more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 32%.

On the resource side, W G Pearson Elementary lists 32 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 10.0:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 14.9:1 average. About 97% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

With demographic context factored in, W G Pearson Elementary tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 49.2% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 48.7%.

In the area at large, the surrounding county (Durham County) shows that median household income runs about $82,316, roughly 55% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 8%. In all, Durham County runs 74 public schools (combined enrollment of about 46,109 students), of which W G Pearson Elementary is one.

Hillside High is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.4 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around W G Pearson Elementary. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts W G Pearson Elementary at 4th of 9; the average score across the group is 50.4%.

The school occupies an inner-city site.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count ticked down 37%: 505 students in 2018 compared to 319 in 2025. The Black share of enrollment decreased from 62% to 58% over that span. Class-load math has narrowed: from 13.2:1 in 2018 to 10.0:1 in 2025.

Inside the community feed, posts here usually surface around open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.