Best Public Schools in Sugar Grove, NC

Summary:

The city of Sugar Grove, North Carolina is home to two elementary schools: Valle Crucis Elementary and Bethel Elementary. These schools serve students from pre-kindergarten through 5th grade and are part of the Watauga County Schools district.

Valle Crucis Elementary stands out as a high-performing school, consistently outperforming the district and state averages in mathematics and reading proficiency. It maintains a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger and ranks 285th out of 1,505 North Carolina elementary schools. In contrast, Bethel Elementary has a 3-star rating and ranks 744th statewide. However, Bethel Elementary has a lower student-teacher ratio of 7.9 compared to Valle Crucis' 11.0, potentially indicating more individualized attention for students.

The data also reveals differences in the schools' financial resources and student demographics. Valle Crucis Elementary spends less per student ($10,351) than Bethel Elementary ($14,795), but has a lower percentage of free/reduced lunch recipients (45.51% vs. 54.55%). These factors may contribute to the observed academic performance disparities between the two schools in the Sugar Grove area.

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				EOG Mathematics (2025)						EOG Reading (2025)						EOG Science (2025)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	EOG Mathematics 3rd Grade	EOG Mathematics 4th Grade	EOG Mathematics 5th Grade	EOG Mathematics 6th Grade	EOG Mathematics 7th Grade	EOG Mathematics 8th Grade	EOG Reading 3rd Grade	EOG Reading 4th Grade	EOG Reading 5th Grade	EOG Reading 6th Grade	EOG Reading 7th Grade	EOG Reading 8th Grade	EOG Science 5th Grade	EOG Science 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Bethel Elementary	Public	PK, KG-8	138 Bethel School Rd	Sugar Grove	28679	Watauga County	Watauga County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 297-2240	128	17	7.7	55.5%	115 (89.8%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (3.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (7.0%)	60.8	550^th of 1490 public elementary schools	63.1%		50.1	744^th of 1505 public elementary schools	50.6%	194	46.2	45.5	64.3	76.9	72.7	37.5	53.8	72.7	57.1	53.8	72.7	62.5	71.4	68.8	$14,795	$1,301	$13,494

Cities Near Sugar Grove

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Boone	7 mi	8	100^th
Vilas	7.19 mi	1	90^th
Zionville	8 mi	1	215^th
Banner Elk	8.68 mi	1	7^th
Elk Park	10.06 mi	2	111^th

See the top NC North Carolina cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.