Elementary Schools in Macon County Schools

Summary:

The Macon County Schools district in North Carolina is home to four elementary schools serving students from pre-kindergarten through 4th grade. The data analysis reveals a stark contrast in the academic performance of these schools, with South Macon Elementary and Cartoogechaye Elementary consistently ranking in the top half of North Carolina elementary schools, while Iotla Valley Elementary and East Franklin Elementary lag behind in both mathematics and reading proficiency.

South Macon Elementary and Cartoogechaye Elementary stand out as the top-performing schools, with South Macon Elementary boasting the highest spending per student at $11,730 and Cartoogechaye Elementary coming in second at $10,078 per student. These two schools also excel in mathematics and reading proficiency, often exceeding the district and state averages. In contrast, Iotla Valley Elementary and East Franklin Elementary generally perform below the district and state averages in both subjects and grade levels.

Interestingly, all four schools in the Macon County Schools district have extremely high free and reduced lunch rates, ranging from 99.10% to 99.37%, indicating a high level of economic disadvantage among the student populations. This socioeconomic factor likely plays a significant role in the academic performance of the schools and the challenges they face. The consistent student-teacher ratios across the schools, ranging from 11.5 to 12.5 students per teacher, suggest that this factor may not be a primary driver of the observed differences in academic performance.

District Detail

1202 Old Murphy Road
Franklin, NC 28734

(828) 524-3314

SchoolDigger Rank:
113^th of 242 North Carolina districts

See the 2025 North Carolina District rankings!

Grades served: PK, KG-13
Students: 4,469

Primary Schools: 4
Middle Schools: 2
High Schools: 3
Alternative Schools: 3

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				EOG Mathematics (2025)		EOG Reading (2025)		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	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	EOG Mathematics 3rd Grade	EOG Mathematics 4th Grade	EOG Reading 3rd Grade	EOG Reading 4th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Cartoogechaye Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	3295 Old Murphy Road	Franklin	28734	Macon County	Macon County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 524-2845	354	25	14.3	99.2%	256 (72.3%)	5 (1.4%)	76 (21.5%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (4.5%)	61.1	545^th of 1490 public elementary schools	63.4%		51.5	721^st of 1505 public elementary schools	52.1%	176	70.0	56.9	54.3	58.5	$10,078	$941	$9,137
East Franklin Elementary	Public	K-4	100 Watauga St	Franklin	28734	Macon County	Macon County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 524-3216	315	25	12.5	99.0%	200 (63.5%)	0 (0.0%)	109 (34.6%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.3%)	31.1	1072^nd of 1490 public elementary schools	28.1%		42	890^th of 1505 public elementary schools	40.9%	182	45.7	44.7	41.4	52.6	$10,178	$875	$9,304
Iotla Valley Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	1166 Iotla Church Road	Franklin	28734	Macon County	Macon County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 524-2938	408	32	12.9	99.3%	328 (80.4%)	2 (0.5%)	64 (15.7%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (2.9%)	41	900^th of 1490 public elementary schools	39.6%		51.1	729^th of 1505 public elementary schools	51.6%	171	53.0	55.6	34.8	59.7	$10,664	$1,364	$9,300
South Macon Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	855 Addington Bridge Road	Franklin	28734	Macon County	Macon County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 369-0796	465	34	13.8	99.4%	325 (69.9%)	0 (0.0%)	124 (26.7%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (3.2%)	61.2	543^rd of 1490 public elementary schools	63.6%		66.1	472^nd of 1505 public elementary schools	68.6%	71	67.9	65.9	46.9	59.8	$11,730	$1,457	$10,273

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Swain County Schools	15.57 mi	6	186^th
Jackson County Public Schools	16.95 mi	9	172^nd
Mountain Discovery Charter School	17.18 mi	1	80^th
Catamount School	17.32 mi	1	44^th
Summit Charter	19.4 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.