Washington Elementary

Washington Elementary, a low-enrollment K-5 school in Shelby, North Carolina, overseen by Cleveland County Schools, instructs 376 students, covering grades pre-K through 5.

Washington Elementary is one of 28 schools operated by Cleveland County Schools, a district that educates 14,504 students overall.

In terms of who attends, Washington Elementary logs that 55% of students identify as White, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups; the rest looks like 19% Hispanic, 16% Black, 10% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 72% White, putting the school's mix noticeably less White than the area baseline.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 26 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 14.4:1 students per teacher. The state averages about 14.9:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Around 98% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

After controlling for student poverty, Washington Elementary sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 49.0%; this one delivers 51.7%.

Zooming out to the county, the surrounding county (Cleveland County) logs that the typical household earns roughly $58,534 per year, 22% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 12%. Across Cleveland County's 29 public schools (combined enrollment of about 15,682 students), Washington Elementary is one campus in the mix.

John Chavis Middle School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 3.6 miles from this campus. 4 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Washington Elementary at 5th of 9; the average score across the group is 56.5%.

The campus sits in an outlying setting.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Washington Elementary has held roughly steady, going from 377 students in 2018 to 376 in 2025. The Black share of enrollment shrank from 24% to 16% over that span. Class-load math has widened: from 12.5:1 in 2018 to 14.4:1 in 2025.

On allk12, members of the Washington Elementary community share and discuss classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. The community welcomes input from current and former families.