Classical Charter Schools of Wilmington

Classical Charter Schools of Wilmington is the only school in the Classical Charter Schools of Wilmington district, serving grades K–5 in Wilmington, NC, with about 140 students and a very high poverty rate (85.7% free/reduced lunch). This small elementary charter has serious academic challenges, especially in math and science, and its performance relative to the state has declined overall in the most recent year.

Looking at the latest test scores, the school is far behind North Carolina averages in most subjects. In 2025–26, overall proficiency was 42.4% compared to the state’s 61.0%, widening the gap from 11 points to nearly 19 points in just one year. Math is a persistent weakness: no grade reached even 50% proficiency in 2025–26, while state averages were above 61%. Science remains about 22 points behind the state, despite improvement from 33.3% to 45.5%. Reading shows a mixed picture. In 2024–25, third-grade reading was a bright spot at 61.1% proficient — over 14 points above the state average — and reading overall nearly matched the state. But in 2025–26, third-grade reading collapsed to 26.3%, dragging down the school’s ranking from the 30th percentile (2 stars) to the 12th percentile (1 star). Fourth-grade reading stayed close to the state, and fifth-grade reading improved, so this decline may reflect very small class sizes rather than a steady trend.

Chronic absenteeism is a major concern: 35.1% of students were chronically absent in 2024–25, well above the state rate of 24.2%. Combined with a high student-teacher ratio of 23.3:1 and the poverty level, these factors likely contribute to the academic struggles. The school’s best year was 2024–25, when it earned 2 stars at the 30th percentile, but 2025–26 dropped back to 1 star at the 12th percentile. For parents, the key takeaway is that this school has urgent needs in elementary math and science, a fragile but promising reading program, and attendance issues that need immediate attention. Success will depend on stabilizing early literacy, improving math instruction across all grades, and reducing chronic absenteeism.