American Renaissance School

American Renaissance School is the only school in the American Renaissance School district, serving grades K–8 in Statesville, North Carolina, with an enrollment of 823 students, a low student-teacher ratio of 13.7, a majority low-income student body (51.28% free or reduced-price lunch), and a 29.0% chronic absenteeism rate that exceeds the state's 24.2%.

Because this is the district's only school, the clearest comparisons are to state averages. Across grades 3–8, math is the dominant weakness: schoolwide proficiency is roughly 37.9%, far below the state's 59.9%, and the problem intensifies in middle school. Proficiency falls from 50.6% in 5th grade to 47.7% in 6th, 34.5% in 7th, and just 16.7% in 8th grade — a 34-point slide compared to a 10-point decline statewide, leaving about one in six 8th graders proficient in math. Eighth grade math also shows the single largest gap in the data at 36.3 points below the state. Reading is much closer to par, with schoolwide proficiency near 47.5% versus the state's 56.0%, and 6th grade reading, at 51.2%, trails by only 3.6 points. The brightest subject is 8th grade science, which jumped from 44.1% to 61.1% proficiency in one year, within about seven points of the state's 68.6%.

Despite meaningful improvement, the school remains in the bottom quarter of North Carolina. Its state rank slipped from 1037 out of 1505 (31st percentile, 2 stars) in 2023–24 to 1135 out of 1492 (24th percentile, 1 star) in 2025–26, and its district ranks 203rd of 246. Encouraging year-over-year gains include 3rd grade reading rising 12.3 points, 5th grade math rising 11.3 points, and 6th grade reading rising 9.7 points, although these come from low starting points. With a chronic absenteeism rate of 29% — nearly three in ten students — and a high-need population, attendance remains a serious obstacle. This is a school with genuine bright spots, such as the strong science result, but consistent, schoolwide math intervention will be essential to raise its overall rating.