Bladen Lakes Primary

Bladen Lakes Primary is a small, rural school in Elizabethtown, NC, serving 166 students in pre-K through 5th grade as part of Bladen County Schools. Nearly all of its students (about 96%) come from economically disadvantaged homes, making the school's recent academic jump especially noteworthy. In 2025–26, Bladen Lakes rose to the 47th percentile statewide with a 2-star rating — its best performance in nearly a decade and a dramatic improvement from the 15th percentile the year before. That makes it the top-ranked school in its district, well ahead of nearby Elizabethtown Primary (5th percentile), Bladenboro Primary (10th), Tar Heel School (22nd), and Dublin Primary (28th).

The school's standout subject is math. Fifth graders posted an 84.2% math proficiency rate in 2025–26 — more than 21 points above the state average — and 4th graders also beat the state, with 70% proficient. By contrast, reading is a serious struggle: only 31.6% of 5th graders were reading proficiently, compared to 55.3% statewide, leaving a 52-point gap between math and reading in that grade. Science scores (68.4%) match the state average. Nearby Beaver Dam Elementary demonstrates what's possible in a similar rural, high-poverty community, ranking in the 99th percentile statewide.

The biggest concern for parents is attendance. In 2024–25, 32.9% of Bladen Lakes students were chronically absent — roughly one in three — exceeding the state rate of 24.2% and higher than nearby Dublin Primary (17%), Tar Heel School (20%), and Alderman Road Elementary (24.7%). Class sizes have also crept up: the student-teacher ratio rose from 13.1 to 19.2 in just two years. The school clearly made progress in 2025–26, especially in math and with low-income students, but whether that represents a lasting turnaround or a single strong class will depend on improving literacy and getting more children to school consistently.