Enrollment
330
Elementary
DISTRICT 365 · STATE 467
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CALDWELL COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370058000243
Whitnel Elementary
1425 Berkley Street SW, Lenoir, NC 28645 · (828) 728-6423 · Caldwell County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL330 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 24% of North Carolina public elementary schools
- CTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- CBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded North Carolina public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
20.0:1
16 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.1:1 · STATE 14.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
95%
313 students
DISTRICT 91% · STATE 82%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 68 | 21% |
| Kindergarten | 52 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 36 | 11% |
| Grade 2 | 41 | 12% |
| Grade 3 | 31 | 9% |
| Grade 4 | 36 | 11% |
| Grade 5 | 66 | 20% |
This year's kindergarten class (52) is 21% smaller than its 5th grade class (66).
Student demographics
58%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 45% · STATE 71% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
NC EOG / EOC 2024-25 . % Grade Level Proficient (Level 3+)English Language Arts
37.9%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
47.7%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 38 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 48 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all North Carolina schools, those numbers are about 51 and 52.
Source: NC EOG / EOC. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
44.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
49.9%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-5.5pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 44% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 50% typical for North Carolina schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among North Carolina's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Whitnel Elementary
Whitnel Elementary's state test result (44.3% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whitnel Elementary this school | 330 | 94.8% | 44.3% |
| Plain View Elementary Dunn | 362 | 99.2% | 57.2% |
| Mangum Elementary Bahama | 315 | 99.0% | 75.4% |
| C C Wright Elementary School North Wilkesboro | 316 | 99.1% | 43.5% |
| Marion Elementary School Marion | 333 | 99.1% | 60.5% |
| Silk Hope School Siler City | 281 | 98.9% | 59.6% |
Matched among North Carolina elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Whitnel Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Caldwell County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 44.3% | #972 of 1,297 | #9 of 13 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 47.7% | #963 of 1,296 | #9 of 13 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 37.9% | #1,017 of 1,300 | #12 of 13 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 330 | #1,114 of 1,485 | #9 of 15 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 20.0:1 | #1,348 of 1,377 | #13 of 13 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 57.7% | #778 of 1,379 | #3 of 13 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 94.8% | #1,063 of 1,414 | #13 of 13 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -4.1% | #810 of 937 | #8 of 9 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
330
+56 (+20%) vs 2020
-32% since 1990-91, when it was 488
Student : Teacher
20.0:1
was 12.4:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 330 | 16.5 | 20.0:1 | 95% (313) |
| 2023-24 | 267 | 22.6 | 11.8:1 | 99% (264) |
| 2022-23 | 300 | 24.6 | 12.2:1 | 99% (297) |
| 2020-21 | 274 | 22 | 12.4:1 | 74% (204) |
| 2017-18 | 344 | 27.3 | 12.6:1 | 99% (339) |
| 2015-16 | 309 | 24 | 12.9:1 | 99% (306) |
| 2010-11 | 381 | 32 | 11.9:1 | 82% (312) |
| 2000-01 | 416 | 36 | 11.6:1 | 62% (258) |
| 1990-91 | 488 | 40 | 12.2:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Whitnel Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 4% (344 to 330); teachers down 40% (27.3 to 16.5).
About Whitnel Elementary
Whitnel Elementary, a small elementary school, is located in Lenoir, North Carolina. Classes run from pre-K through 5, and the school has 330 students. Against the 467-student average for elementary schools in North Carolina, enrollment here is 29% lower.
Caldwell County Schools enrolls 10,667 students in 25 schools, including Whitnel Elementary.
White students are the majority at Whitnel Elementary, with 59% of enrollment. Other groups include 24% Hispanic, 8% Black, and 8% multiracial. The county population is about 86% White. Whitnel Elementary's diversity index is 58%, against a US figure of 70%.
Staffing totals 16.5 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the student-to-teacher ratio is 20.0:1. That is higher than the 14.9:1 average for elementary schools in North Carolina. A measure often used for student poverty, free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, stands at 95%. That tracks the 95% average for public schools in Caldwell County.
The allk12 Grade for Whitnel Elementary is C-. Compared with North Carolina public elementary schools, the school scored higher than 24% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Schools in North Carolina with a similar free or reduced-price lunch share are predicted to score about 49.9%. Whitnel Elementary scores 44.3%.
In Caldwell County (population about 80,536), the median household income is $56,425, roughly 19% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 11%. There are 26 public schools in Caldwell County, enrolling about 10,920 students in all.
Nearest public school: Davenport A+ School, about 1.8 miles away. A five-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools. Whitnel Elementary ranks 6th of 7 among nearby schools on average proficiency, with 44.3% against a local average of 60.3%.
Whitnel Elementary has an NCES locale of City: Small.
Compared with 2020-21, the school had 56 more students in 2024-25. The number of students per teacher rose from 12.4 to 20.0 over 4 years.
Families, students, and staff can use this page to discuss enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news at Whitnel Elementary. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Caldwell County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
80,536
Census ACS
Median income
$56,425
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
19%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
26
10,920 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Caldwell County Schools
- South Caldwell HighHigh · 1,272 students
- Hibriten HighHigh · 818 students
- Hudson ElementaryElementary · 665 students
- Granite Falls ElementaryElementary · 647 students
- West Caldwell HighHigh · 634 students
- Hudson MiddleMiddle · 551 students
Other schools in Lenoir
- Hibriten HighHigh · 818 students
- West Caldwell HighHigh · 634 students
- William Lenoir MiddleMiddle · 512 students
- Gamewell ElementaryElementary · 459 students
- Gamewell MiddleMiddle · 457 students
- Davenport A+ SchoolElementary · 429 students
Nearby schools
- Davenport A+ School1.8 mi · 429
- Lower Creek Elementary2.3 mi · 396
- Horizons Elementary2.6 mi · 29
- Caldwell Online Academy2.6 mi · 138
- William Lenoir Middle2.7 mi · 512
- Hibriten High2.8 mi · 818
Frequently asked questions
About Whitnel ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at Whitnel Elementary?
Whitnel Elementary enrolls approximately 330 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Whitnel Elementary serve?
Whitnel Elementary serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Whitnel Elementary?
Approximately 20.0:1 students per teacher at Whitnel Elementary.
How diverse is Whitnel Elementary?
Whitnel Elementary reports a student body of 59% White, 24% Hispanic, 8% Black, 1% Asian, 8% Two or more.
What district is Whitnel Elementary in?
Whitnel Elementary is part of Caldwell County Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.