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Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools


At a glance
159thof 246 North Carolina districts
Better than 35% of North Carolina districts
475 Corporate Square Drive
Winston Salem, NC 27102
·(336) 727-2292·All North Carolina district rankings →
Statewide performance 2018–2026
2026: better than 35.4% of districts
80
Schools
51,568
Students
4
5-star schools
Top rankedSherwood Forest Elementary49th of 1,492 North Carolina elementary schools
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Biggest riser
Ibraham Elementary up 162 spots statewide this year
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Smallest classes
Lowrance Middle 6 students per teacher
SchoolDigger ratings
4★
2★
1★
0★
9 schools without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)
Summary:

Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools (WS/FCS) is a large North Carolina district serving roughly 51,500 students across 78 schools in Winston-Salem and surrounding Forsyth County, including 44 elementary schools, 16 middle schools, 17 high schools, and one alternative program. The district currently ranks 159th out of 246 districts in North Carolina with a 2-star rating and trails the state in most tested subjects, yet that single rating masks a remarkable range of outcomes — WS/FCS contains both nationally competitive schools and traditional schools ranking near the very bottom of the state.

A handful of schools stand far above the rest. Early College of Forsyth County is the district's strongest high school, posting near-90-percent proficiency in Math III and Biology, while Ronald W Reagan High School is the best traditional comprehensive high school with a 93.7 percent graduation rate. Atkins Academic & Technical High also earns 4 stars with exceptional math results. At the middle school level, Lewisville Middle is the clear standout, ranking in the 93rd percentile statewide. Among elementary schools, Sherwood Forest Elementary, Meadowlark Elementary, Lewisville Elementary, and Whitaker Elementary all earn top ratings, with proficiency rates frequently above 80 percent and very low chronic absenteeism. West Forsyth High posts the district's highest graduation rate at 94.7 percent.

The other end of the spectrum is equally striking. Carver High, Parkland High, and Petree Elementary rank among the lowest schools in North Carolina, and chronic absenteeism — already a district-wide problem at 33.6 percent — exceeds 50 percent at many struggling schools. Math I proficiency is the district's biggest academic bottleneck, with most comprehensive high schools falling below 20 percent proficient. The bottom line: WS/FCS is a district of extremes where the gap between top and bottom schools is enormous, so for parents, looking at individual school results rather than district averages is essential.

AllElementaryMiddleHighAlternative
Ranking:
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E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private




Districts nearby

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.

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