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Middle Schools in Burke County Schools

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At a glance

DistrictBurke County Schools83^rd of 246 North Carolina districtsFull district overview →

Schools

2,426

Students

Top rankedEast Burke Middle249^th of 778 North Carolina middle schools

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Biggest riser

East Burke Middle up 134 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Walter R Johnson Middle 12.9 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

3★

2★

Compare North Carolina districts →See the top-ranked North Carolina schools →

Summary:

Burke County Schools oversees five middle schools — East Burke Middle, Heritage Middle, Liberty Middle, Walter R Johnson Middle, and Table Rock Middle — serving grades 6 through 8 in the Morganton, Connelly Springs, and Valdese communities of western North Carolina. All five have nearly identical poverty levels, with free/reduced lunch eligibility ranging from 99.06% to 99.34%, so economic disadvantage cannot explain the achievement gaps among them. As a group, these schools beat the state average in math (62.2% vs. 56.1%) and 8th grade science (76.5% vs. 68.6%) but trail slightly in reading (53.2% vs. 55.7%).

East Burke Middle is the strongest all-around school, ranking at the 68th percentile statewide and posting the highest reading proficiency (58.9%) as the only school to beat the state reading average in every grade. Heritage Middle counters with the best math average (65.0%) and strong 8th grade science, while Liberty Middle is the most consistent performer, highlighted by the district's top single result of 79.8% proficiency in 6th grade math. Walter R Johnson Middle has shown the most improvement, climbing from the 25th to the 42nd percentile with a 28-point jump in 8th grade math, yet it still has the lowest reading scores in the group (43.9%). Table Rock Middle leads all five schools in 8th grade science at 85.4% but carries the highest chronic absenteeism rate (28.4%).

Four of the five schools improved or held steady in statewide ranking over three years, with East Burke Middle jumping from the 50th to the 68th percentile. Reading remains the district's biggest challenge: only East Burke Middle exceeds state reading averages consistently, and Walter R Johnson Middle falls far behind in every grade. Science is the clearest strength, as every school surpasses the state's 68.6% proficiency mark in 8th grade science, giving the district a foundation to build on. Attendance and class size do not neatly predict outcomes, though — Walter R Johnson Middle has the lowest absenteeism (11.5%) and the smallest classes (12.9 students per teacher) yet the weakest reading scores, a reminder that each school offers its own mix of strengths and challenges for parents to weigh.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				EOG Mathematics (2026)			EOG Reading (2026)			EOG Science (2026)	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 (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	EOG Mathematics 6th Grade	EOG Mathematics 7th Grade	EOG Mathematics 8th Grade	EOG Reading 6th Grade	EOG Reading 7th Grade	EOG Reading 8th Grade	EOG Science 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Heritage Middle	Public	6-8	1951 Enon Road	Valdese	28690	Burke County	Burke County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 874-0731	475	29	16.1	99.2%	349 (73.5%)	19 (4.0%)	43 (9.1%)	30 (6.3%)	2 (0.4%)	2 (0.4%)	30 (6.3%)	61.7	280^th of 778 public middle schools	64.0%		66.5	237^th of 773 public middle schools	69.3%	43	55.3	66.3	73.5	50.0	62.6	53.2	76.9	$8,601	$890	$7,711
Table Rock Middle	Public	6-8	1585 Nc 126	Morganton	28655	Burke County	Burke County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 437-5212	427	31	14.0	99.1%	282 (66.0%)	34 (8.0%)	53 (12.4%)	20 (4.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	37 (8.7%)	56.2	337^th of 778 public middle schools	56.7%		49.2	390^th of 773 public middle schools	49.5%	53	46.3	66.7	65.0	49.0	53.3	51.6	85.4	$9,032	$751	$8,280
East Burke Middle	Public	6-8	3519 Miller Bridge Road	Connelly Springs	28612	Burke County	Burke County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 397-7446	630	40	15.9	99.2%	459 (72.9%)	14 (2.2%)	59 (9.4%)	58 (9.2%)	2 (0.3%)	6 (1.0%)	32 (5.1%)	64.9	249^th of 778 public middle schools	68.0%		50.7	383^rd of 773 public middle schools	50.5%	134	74.1	58.9	57.9	56.2	61.1	59.5	74.4	$8,638	$679	$7,959
Liberty Middle	Public	6-8	529 Enola Road	Morganton	28655	Burke County	Burke County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 437-1330	453	29	15.6	99.3%	307 (67.8%)	15 (3.3%)	80 (17.7%)	16 (3.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	35 (7.7%)	63.4	265^th of 778 public middle schools	65.9%		65	252^nd of 773 public middle schools	67.4%	13	79.8	63.4	51.0	57.6	58.5	54.4	73.2	$8,674	$830	$7,844
Walter R Johnson Middle	Public	6-8	701 Lenoir Road	Morganton	28655	Burke County	Burke County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 430-7340	441	34	12.9	99.3%	94 (21.3%)	24 (5.4%)	284 (64.4%)	13 (2.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (5.9%)	43.4	450^th of 778 public middle schools	42.2%		29.2	554^th of 773 public middle schools	28.3%	104	45.9	57.5	71.1	40.1	46.2	45.3	72.7	$8,789	$1,074	$7,715

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Caldwell County Schools	4.26 mi	25	162^nd
NC Health and Human Services	5.58 mi	11
The New Dimensions School	6.07 mi	1	107^th
Governor Morehead School for the Blind	6.5 mi	3
NC School for the Deaf	6.52 mi	1

See the top NC North Carolina districts

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.