Clay County Schools

Clay County Schools is a small, high-poverty district in Hayesville, North Carolina, serving about 1,300 students across four schools: Hayesville Primary School (PK–2), Hayesville Elementary (3–5), Hayesville Middle (6–8), and Hayesville High (9–12).

Hayesville Elementary is the district’s academic standout, ranked in the 73rd percentile with a 4-star rating. It posts well-above-state scores in 3rd-grade math (81% vs. 66.4%), 5th-grade math (74.4% vs. 62.9%), and 5th-grade science (76.6% vs. 67.7%). This is especially notable because nearly 99% of its students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Hayesville Middle is more inconsistent, ranked in the 58th percentile. Its 7th graders shine—78.4% proficient in math and 69.6% in reading, far above state averages—but 6th-grade math and 8th-grade science trail the state. Hayesville High has dropped to a 2-star, 45th-percentile ranking, yet still graduates 93% of students (state: 88.8%) and exceeds state averages in Math III and Biology. Its low overall rank is driven by a 22.7% Math I proficiency rate, a steep 19-point drop from the state average.

Chronic absenteeism splits sharply by grade band: Hayesville Elementary (23.5%) and Hayesville Middle (24.2%) sit near the state average, but Hayesville Primary School (33.0%) and Hayesville High (36.6%) are well above it. Because each school serves only one grade span with small cohorts, year-to-year swings can be dramatic—for example, Hayesville Elementary’s 5th-grade math jumped from 50% to 74.4% in one year. Families should view these numbers as useful signals rather than definitive trends, especially given the entire district’s ~99% poverty rate. The primary school has no test data, so monitoring its high absenteeism early is key. Overall, this is a district that beats expectations in several tested areas, but its high school weaknesses and attendance gaps deserve attention.