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Elementary Schools in New Hanover County Schools


At a glance
DistrictNew Hanover County Schools84th of 246 North Carolina districtsFull district overview →
26
Schools
11,062
Students
7
5-star schools
Top rankedMasonboro Elementary23rd of 1,492 North Carolina elementary schools
Biggest riser
Murrayville Elementary up 167 spots statewide this year
Smallest classes
Forest Hills Global Elementary 10.7 students per teacher
SchoolDigger ratings
5★
4★
3★
2★
1★
0★
1 school without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)
Summary:

New Hanover County Schools operates 26 elementary schools across the Wilmington, North Carolina, area, serving kindergarten through fifth grade, with several offering pre-K and two (The International School at Gregory and Lake Forest Academy) serving through eighth grade. The district ranks in the 66th percentile statewide with an overall 3-star rating, but that average hides enormous disparities: total enrollment is roughly 11,000 students, ranging from just 45 at Lake Forest Academy to 666 at Porters Neck Elementary.

A clear group of high-performing schools sits far above the rest. Masonboro Elementary ranks 23rd in the state with EOG proficiency near 89%, closely followed by Wrightsville Beach Elementary and Dr John Codington Elementary, which climbed from 149th to 45th in one year. Ogden Elementary, Carolina Beach Elementary, Dr Hubert Eaton Senior Elementary, and Heyward C Bellamy Elementary round out the 5-star list. At the other end, R Freeman School of Engineering ranks dead last in the state, with Sunset Park Elementary and A H Snipes Academy of Arts/Des close behind. Yet poverty is not destiny: Murrayville Elementary serves a 99.5% economically disadvantaged population yet outperforms the district in every grade 3–5 EOG subject, and Castle Hayne Elementary and Winter Park Model Elementary also beat expectations.

Chronic absenteeism is the sharpest dividing line — every 5-star school holds absenteeism at or below 11.8%, while every 0-star school exceeds 26%. Attendance problems are concentrated, with only 8 of 26 schools above the district's 23.8% rate. Reading, especially third-grade reading, is the district's biggest weakness. Rankings move quickly in both directions: Murrayville gained 167 places in one year while Sunset Park fell 258. The International School at Gregory shows an unusual pattern: its elementary scores lag, but its 8th graders surpass district averages in math, reading, and science, suggesting strong academic growth through the grades.

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




Districts nearby

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.

Diagnostics