Enrollment
280
Elementary
DISTRICT 425 · STATE 467
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·NEW HANOVER COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370333001397
Wrightsville Beach Elem
220 Coral Drive, Wrightsville Beach, NC 28480 · (910) 256-3171 · New Hanover County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL280 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 94% of North Carolina public elementary schools
- A+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A-Beats 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
14.5:1
19 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.3:1 · STATE 14.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
9%
25 students
DISTRICT 72% · 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 39 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 50 | 18% |
| Grade 2 | 44 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 44 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 48 | 17% |
| Grade 5 | 55 | 20% |
This year's kindergarten class (39) is 29% smaller than its 5th grade class (55).
Student demographics
16%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 61% · 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
85.4%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
93.4%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 85 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 93 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
88.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
76.1%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+12.4pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 89% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 76% 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 Wrightsville Beach Elem
Wrightsville Beach Elem's state test result (88.6% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wrightsville Beach Elem this school | 280 | 8.9% | 88.6% |
| Blowing Rock Elementary Blowing Rock | 409 | 20.0% | 78.9% |
| Dilworth Elementary School Latta Campus Charlotte | 330 | 18.8% | 87.9% |
| Hillsborough Elementary Hillsborough | 435 | 17.5% | 80.1% |
| Dilworth Elementary Charlotte | 411 | 14.8% | N/A |
| Chantilly Montessori Charlotte | 316 | 14.9% | 76.2% |
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 Wrightsville Beach Elem ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In New Hanover County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 88.6% | #10 of 1,297 | #1 of 25 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 93.4% | #3 of 1,296 | #1 of 25 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 85.4% | #12 of 1,300 | #1 of 25 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 280 | #1,227 of 1,485 | #24 of 31 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.5:1 | #591 of 1,377 | #19 of 27 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 16.2% | #1,368 of 1,379 | #27 of 27 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 8.9% | #1,406 of 1,414 | #27 of 27 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -18.1% | #328 of 937 | #9 of 22 |
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
280
+8 (+3%) vs 2020
+90% since 1990-91, when it was 147
Student : Teacher
14.5:1
was 15.1:1
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 | 280 | 19.4 | 14.5:1 | 9% (25) |
| 2023-24 | 273 | 18.5 | 14.7:1 | 13% (35) |
| 2022-23 | 263 | 19.2 | 13.7:1 | 9% (23) |
| 2020-21 | 272 | 18 | 15.1:1 | 4% (10) |
| 2017-18 | 342 | 21.1 | 16.2:1 | 13% (43) |
| 2015-16 | 356 | 20 | 17.8:1 | 13% (45) |
| 2010-11 | 309 | 17 | 18.2:1 | 6% (20) |
| 2000-01 | 233 | 18 | 12.9:1 | 15% (35) |
| 1990-91 | 147 | 10 | 14.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Wrightsville Beach Elem.
Since 2017-18: students down 18% (342 to 280); teachers down 8% (21.1 to 19.4).
About Wrightsville Beach Elem
Wrightsville Beach Elem is a public elementary school run by New Hanover County Schools in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. The school enrolls 280 students, from kindergarten through 5. Average enrollment for elementary schools in North Carolina is about 467, so this school runs 40% smaller than that.
New Hanover County Schools operates 42 schools. Combined enrollment is 24,791 students.
Wrightsville Beach Elem enrolls a student body that is 91% White. Beyond that, enrollment is 3% Hispanic and 3% multiracial. In New Hanover County overall, about 77% of residents are White. The chance that two students picked at random at Wrightsville Beach Elem belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 16%.
The ratio of students to teachers is 14.5:1, with 19.4 full-time-equivalent teachers on staff. Across elementary schools in North Carolina, the average ratio is about 14.9:1. The percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch is 9%. Compared with the 67% average for public schools in New Hanover County, the school's rate is lower.
allk12 grades Wrightsville Beach Elem an A. The grade compares the school only with North Carolina public elementary schools, because each state gives its own test.
Predicted from its free or reduced-price lunch share, Wrightsville Beach Elem would score about 76.1%. It scores 88.6%, 12.4 points above that figure.
County data help place the school in context: in New Hanover County, median household income is about $75,166, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 45% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 8%. The public schools of New Hanover County number 50 and enroll about 27,460.
The nearest public school is Bradley Creek Elementary, at about 2.9 miles. Wrightsville Beach Elem has at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Nearby schools with test data average 69.7% proficiency; Wrightsville Beach Elem posts 88.6%.
Locale data from NCES put Wrightsville Beach Elem in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more (Suburb: Large).
Wrightsville Beach Elem had 272 students in 2020-21 and 280 in 2024-25, a 3% rise.
To ask about sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater, start a discussion on this page. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
New Hanover County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
235,229
Census ACS
Median income
$75,166
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
45%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
50
27,460 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in New Hanover County Schools
- Emsley A Laney HighHigh · 2,243 students
- John T Hoggard HighHigh · 2,082 students
- Eugene Ashley HighHigh · 1,893 students
- New Hanover HighHigh · 1,437 students
- Charles P Murray MiddleMiddle · 907 students
- Roland-Grise MiddleMiddle · 878 students
Nearby schools
- Bradley Creek Elementary2.9 mi · 344
- M C S Noble Middle3.5 mi · 690
- Ogden Elementary3.6 mi · 619
- John J Blair Elementary3.7 mi · 451
- College Park Elementary4.0 mi · 470
- Dr Hubert Eaton Sr Elem4.1 mi · 461
Frequently asked questions
About Wrightsville Beach ElemHow large is Wrightsville Beach Elem?
Wrightsville Beach Elem enrolls approximately 280 students in grades KG-05.
What grades does Wrightsville Beach Elem serve?
Wrightsville Beach Elem serves grades KG-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Wrightsville Beach Elem?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Wrightsville Beach Elem is approximately 14.5:1 (19 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Wrightsville Beach Elem?
Wrightsville Beach Elem reports a student body of 91% White, 3% Hispanic, 1% Black, 2% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Who oversees Wrightsville Beach Elem?
Wrightsville Beach Elem is overseen by New Hanover County Schools in New Hanover County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.