West Clayton Elementary

West Clayton Elementary, an expansive K-5 school in Clayton, North Carolina, one of the schools within Johnston County Public Schools, works with 742 students, covering grades pre-K through 5. That puts it 59% bigger than the typical public school in North Carolina, which averages around 467 students.

Johnston County Public Schools runs 48 schools in total, collectively educating 37,320 students. West Clayton Elementary is one of those campuses.

On demographics, West Clayton Elementary reports that the most-represented group is Hispanic (36%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. Other groups include 33% White, 21% Black, 7% multiracial, 3% Asian. That is visibly more Hispanic than the county at large, where the share is closer to 17%.

In terms of school funding signals, The school reports having 50 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 14.9:1. The state averages about 14.9:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Around 99% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, West Clayton Elementary sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 48.8%; this one delivers 55.9%.

In the surrounding community, Johnston County reports that median household earnings sit near $83,384, about 29% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 8%. In all, Johnston County runs 52 public schools (combined enrollment of about 41,004 students), of which West Clayton Elementary is one.

Nearest neighbor: Clayton High, around 0.5 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around West Clayton Elementary. On composite proficiency, West Clayton Elementary comes 4th of 8 in the immediate cluster, beneath the nearby-schools average of 58.7%.

The school occupies a residential site.

Five-year trend. West Clayton Elementary's enrollment has decreased 19% since 2018, when it stood at 920 (now 742). White enrollment moved from 49% to 33% across the same window. Class-load math has narrowed: from 16.1:1 in 2018 to 14.9:1 in 2025.

On allk12, the feed for West Clayton Elementary typically covers classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. The community welcomes input from current and former families.