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Lee County Schools

At a glance

151^stof 246 North Carolina districts▲ 2

Better than 38% of North Carolina districts

Elementary 8 Middle 3 High 4 Alternative 1Grades PK, KG-12

106 Gordon St
Sanford, NC 27331·(919) 774-6226·All North Carolina district rankings →

Statewide performance 2018–2026

2026: better than 38.6% of districts

Schools

9,168

Students

5-star school

Top rankedLee Early College63^rd of 662 North Carolina high schools

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Biggest riser

Broadway Elementary up 348 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

West Lee Middle 13.7 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

4★

3★

2★

1★

1 school without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

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

Summary:

Lee County Schools is a mid-sized North Carolina district with 16 campuses serving roughly 9,168 students across elementary, middle, and high school grades, plus alternative programs. The district ranks 151st out of 246 districts (39th percentile, 2 stars), and virtually every school serves an extremely high-poverty student body, with all schools reporting at least 90% free/reduced-price lunch eligibility.

The standout school is Lee Early College, ranked 63rd of 662 high schools with 5 stars and proficiency rates far above state averages in biology, English II, Math I, and Math III. Among traditional schools, Tramway Elementary is the district’s brightest spot, ranked in the 89th percentile with only 6.2% chronic absenteeism and strong math and science scores despite nearly 99% poverty. Greenwood Elementary also performs well at the 77th percentile. In the middle grades, SanLee Middle School leads its peers, ranking at the 58th percentile while East Lee and West Lee fall near the 27th-30th percentiles. At the opposite end, Bragg Street Academy is an alternative setting with a 56.6% graduation rate and 73.8% chronic absenteeism, signaling a high-risk population rather than a typical high school.

District-wide, chronic absenteeism is 21.4%, slightly better than the state’s 24.2%, but end-of-course proficiency lags badly, especially English II (43.7% vs. 64.6% statewide) and Math I (25.7% vs. 42.1%). Graduation rates are healthy, yet in comprehensive high schools like Lee County High and Southern Lee High School, most students are not proficient in algebra or English II. A clear pattern emerges in elementary schools: reading proficiency trails math in every single campus, with 3rd-grade reading gaps of 12 to 28 points. Science appears a relative strength at several schools. The most encouraging trend is that schools like Broadway Elementary and West Lee Middle have shown meaningful improvement over three years, proving high-poverty schools can move upward when literacy and attendance become priorities.

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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)				EOC Biology (2026)	EOC English II (2026)	EOC Math I (2026)	EOC Math III (2026)	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/reduced lunch (2024-25)	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	EOC Biology End of Course	EOC English II End of Course	EOC Math I End of Course	EOC Math III End of Course	EOG Mathematics 3rd Grade	EOG Mathematics 4th Grade	EOG Mathematics 5th Grade	EOG Mathematics 6th Grade	EOG Mathematics 7th Grade	EOG Mathematics 8th Grade	EOG Reading 3rd Grade	EOG Reading 4th Grade	EOG Reading 5th Grade	EOG Reading 6th Grade	EOG Reading 7th Grade	EOG Reading 8th Grade	EOG Science 5th Grade	EOG Science 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Broadway Elementary	Public	K-5	307 S Main St	Broadway	27505	Lee County	Lee County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 258-3828	490	31	15.5	96.9%	150 (30.6%)	80 (16.3%)	237 (48.4%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (4.1%)	36.9	962^nd of 1492 public elementary schools	35.5%		18.4	1310^th of 1490 public elementary schools	12.1%	348					47.6	55.4	65.7				39.0	49.4	47.8				70.1		$9,542	$1,101	$8,441
Deep River Elementary	Public	K-5	4000 Deep River Rd	Sanford	27330	Lee County	Lee County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 776-2722	557	34	16.3	96.8%	159 (28.5%)	86 (15.4%)	267 (47.9%)	5 (0.9%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (6.8%)	51.8	695^th of 1492 public elementary schools	53.4%		56.7	617^th of 1490 public elementary schools	58.6%	78					73.1	70.4	67.0				50.5	53.1	46.0				62.0		$9,663	$1,381	$8,282
East Lee Middle	Public	6-8	1337 Broadway Rd	Sanford	27330	Lee County	Lee County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 776-8441	526	34	15.4	97.5%	148 (28.1%)	111 (21.1%)	233 (44.3%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	32 (6.1%)	29.3	565^th of 778 public middle schools	27.4%		19.1	645^th of 773 public middle schools	16.6%	80								39.8	47.0	46.1				39.5	45.0	47.4		58.4	$8,028	$700	$7,329
Floyd L Knight Children Center	Public, Alternative	PK, KG-12	607 W McIntosh St	Sanford	27330	Lee County	Lee County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 774-4634	95	13	7.3	96.8%	37 (38.9%)	12 (12.6%)	37 (38.9%)	2 (2.1%)	2 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (5.3%)								(n/a)																			$47,095	$6,765	$40,330
Lee County High	Public	9-12	1708 Nash Street	Sanford	27330	Lee County	Lee County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 776-7541	1,459	74	19.8	—	416 (28.5%)	336 (23.0%)	640 (43.9%)	12 (0.8%)	5 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	49 (3.4%)	19.4	557^th of 662 public high schools	15.9%		24.1	501^st of 641 public high schools	21.8%	56	36.0	41.5	18.6	61.1															$9,332	$595	$8,737
West Lee Middle	Public	6-8	3301 Wicker St	Sanford	27330	Lee County	Lee County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 775-7351	522	38	13.7	96.9%	102 (19.5%)	97 (18.6%)	287 (55.0%)	3 (0.6%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	30 (5.7%)	31.2	544^th of 778 public middle schools	30.1%		29.2	553^rd of 773 public middle schools	28.5%	9								51.6	43.2	32.7				44.4	41.9	47.6		65.1	$8,316	$876	$7,440
Bragg Street Academy	Public	6-12	504 Bragg Street	Sanford	27330	Lee County	Lee County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 775-2686	40	6	6.4	90.0%	7 (17.5%)	18 (45.0%)	14 (35.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (2.5%)	1.1	657^th of 662 public high schools	0.8%		2.8	632^nd of 641 public high schools	1.4%	25	339.1	8.3	537.9	23.1						10.0						20.0		40.0	$20,791	$253	$20,538
J Glenn Edwards Elementary	Public	K-5	3115 Cemetery Rd	Sanford	27332	Lee County	Lee County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 774-3733	587	36	16.4	—	179 (30.5%)	98 (16.7%)	272 (46.3%)	7 (1.2%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.3%)	28 (4.8%)	42.3	874^th of 1492 public elementary schools	41.4%		41.6	888^th of 1490 public elementary schools	40.4%	14					61.6	53.2	69.7				43.4	46.8	52.8				67.4		$9,176	$1,462	$7,714
J R Ingram Junior Elementary	Public	K-5	3309 Wicker St	Sanford	27330	Lee County	Lee County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 774-3772	419	30	13.9	—	163 (38.9%)	95 (22.7%)	126 (30.1%)	2 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	32 (7.6%)	54	666^th of 1492 public elementary schools	55.4%		42.1	877^th of 1490 public elementary schools	41.1%	211					71.0	65.2	60.2				62.9	62.3	47.7				62.5		$9,063	$1,217	$7,846
Greenwood Elementary	Public	K-5	1127 Greenwood Rd	Sanford	28355	Lee County	Lee County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 776-0506	571	39	14.8	—	246 (43.1%)	61 (10.7%)	220 (38.5%)	2 (0.4%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	39 (6.8%)	74	341^st of 1492 public elementary schools	77.1%		65.6	470^th of 1490 public elementary schools	68.5%	129					83.5	77.1	72.1				55.3	63.3	61.3				80.2		$9,213	$1,139	$8,074
BT Bullock Elementary	Public	K-5	1410 McNeill Road	Sanford	27330	Lee County	Lee County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 718-0160	511	34	15.1	—	173 (33.9%)	100 (19.6%)	213 (41.7%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (4.7%)	45.4	817^th of 1492 public elementary schools	45.2%		39.5	926^th of 1490 public elementary schools	37.9%	109					67.5	50.5	58.0				55.8	42.6	56.8				71.6		$10,085	$1,594	$8,491
Tramway Elementary	Public	K-5	360 Center Church Road	Sanford	27330	Lee County	Lee County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 718-0170	559	40	13.9	—	304 (54.4%)	70 (12.5%)	160 (28.6%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (3.9%)	86.1	163^rd of 1492 public elementary schools	89.1%		82.5	207^th of 1490 public elementary schools	86.1%	44					92.5	72.4	85.1				78.8	64.4	75.9				82.8		$9,060	$791	$8,269
Southern Lee High School	Public	9-12	2301 Tramway Road	Sanford	27332	Lee County	Lee County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 718-2400	1,180	56	20.9	—	360 (30.5%)	251 (21.3%)	517 (43.8%)	9 (0.8%)	3 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	39 (3.3%)	24.4	524^th of 662 public high schools	20.8%		30.1	449^th of 641 public high schools	30.0%	75	48.9	39.8	27.7	58.4															$9,595	$738	$8,857
Lee Early College	Public	9-12	1105 Kelly Drive	Sanford	27330	Lee County	Lee County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 888-4502	272	7	39.6	—	83 (30.5%)	22 (8.1%)	145 (53.3%)	7 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	14 (5.1%)	91.4	63^rd of 662 public high schools	90.5%		91.3	65^th of 641 public high schools	89.9%	2	85.7	98.2	90.9	98.4															$5,908	$41	$5,867
SanLee Middle School	Public	6-8	2309 Tramway Rd	Sanford	27332	Lee County	Lee County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 708-7227	792	52	15.2	—	234 (29.5%)	154 (19.4%)	361 (45.6%)	9 (1.1%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	33 (4.2%)	57.8	323^rd of 778 public middle schools	58.5%		55.3	324^th of 773 public middle schools	58.1%	1								67.4	55.6	55.9				56.4	52.2	53.6		78.9	$7,599	$701	$6,898
WB Wicker Elementary	Public	K-5	900 S Vance St	Sanford	27330	Lee County	Lee County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 897-5400	588	42	14.1	—	48 (8.2%)	211 (35.9%)	299 (50.9%)	3 (0.5%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (4.1%)	31.5	1066^th of 1492 public elementary schools	28.6%		27.1	1133^rd of 1490 public elementary schools	24.0%	67					48.5	49.5	69.2				36.6	34.1	44.0				69.2

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County	4.27 mi	2	40^th
Rising Leaders Academy	5.5 mi	1	238^th
Harnett County Schools	6.79 mi	29	173^rd
Central Carolina Academy	8.8 mi	1	24^th
Chatham County Schools	12.5 mi	21	62^nd

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.