Alamance-Burlington Schools

Alamance-Burlington Schools is a North Carolina district with 37 schools serving 22,661 students in elementary through high school grades, including 20 elementary schools, 7 middle schools, and 10 high schools, many of which face significant poverty-related challenges. The district ranks 179th out of 246 districts statewide with a 1-star rating, placing it in the bottom quarter of North Carolina districts, but that overall rating hides a wide divide between its strongest and weakest schools.

At the top, ABSS Early College at ACC is the district's clear academic outlier, ranked #6 in the state with near-perfect EOC scores, though it is an early-college program rather than a traditional high school. Among traditional high schools, Southeast Alamance High is the strongest, exceeding state averages in all four EOC subjects with a 3-star rating. Hawfields Middle is the standout middle school, earning 4 stars with improving rankings for three straight years. On the elementary side, Marvin B Smith Elementary and Audrey W. Garrett Elementary each earn 4-star ratings near the 70th percentile, while E M Yoder Elementary ranks in the 64th percentile.

Much of the district, however, is struggling. Eastlawn Elementary and North Graham Elementary rank in the bottom 1% of elementary schools, and Graham Middle sits near the bottom of the state's middle schools. Chronic absenteeism is a district-wide problem at 30%, versus the state's 24.2%. Only Southern Alamance High and Eastern Alamance High exceed the state graduation rate of 88.8%. While poverty is a clear obstacle, Marvin B Smith Elementary proves high achievement is possible even with a 99.28% free/reduced lunch rate, making attendance and instructional quality critical levers for families to track.