Pactolus

Pactolus is a PK-8 school in Greenville, NC, serving 657 students in the Pitt County Schools district, where nearly all students (99.5%) qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school now ranks in the 6th percentile statewide — 1,403rd out of 1,492 schools, with a 0-star rating — a sharp drop after several years hovering in the low-20s percentile.

Academically, Pactolus trails district and state averages significantly. Across grades 3–8, math proficiency averages about 45%, compared with roughly 63% across the district and 60% statewide. Reading is the bigger concern: about 34% of students are proficient versus 55% district-wide and 56% statewide. In 3rd grade, just 26.3% of students read proficiently, compared with 55.6% across North Carolina. Attendance is also a major challenge. In the most recent school year, 31.6% of Pactolus students were chronically absent — the highest among nearby schools, and well above the district rate of 21.7% and the state rate of 24.2%.

Despite the overall struggles, Pactolus has a genuine bright spot: English Learner students perform in the 86th percentile statewide, an exceptional and consistent strength over multiple years. The school’s outcomes also cannot be blamed on poverty alone. Nearby Wintergreen Intermediate and G R Whitfield serve almost identical low-income student bodies (99.63% and 99.46% free/reduced lunch, respectively), yet rank in the 87th and 79th percentiles, with absenteeism rates of only 8.8% and 15.1%. For parents exploring school options, Pactolus clearly needs significant support, but these nearby comparisons show that higher achievement in this community context is achievable.