Johnston Charter Academy

Johnston Charter Academy is a K–8 public charter school in Clayton, NC, east of Raleigh, enrolling 677 students and operating as its own single-school district. That K–8 span is unique among nearby schools: Barwell Road Elementary and East Clayton Elementary, for example, both stop at 5th grade. The charter district, Johnston Charter Academy, ranks 29th of 246 NC districts (88th percentile), while the school itself ranks 304th statewide (80th percentile, 4 stars) after two consecutive 3-star years. About half of students (50.5%) qualify for free or reduced-price lunch — far below the 98–99.6% rate at most neighboring traditional public elementaries — though Bryan Road Elementary serves an even lower-income population at 34%.

Reading and science are JCA's signature strengths. Reading proficiency exceeds the state average in every grade from 3rd through 8th, and science results are striking: 87.2% of 5th graders and 88.2% of 8th graders are proficient, roughly 20 points above statewide rates. The school also posts unusually strong outcomes for groups that often face achievement gaps — economically disadvantaged students ranked at the 88th percentile statewide, Hispanic students at the 81st percentile, and African American students at the 79th percentile, all at or above JCA's overall standing. Chronic absenteeism is 17.9%, well below the state's 24.2%, and this comes despite a 19.4:1 student-teacher ratio that is the highest of any school in the area.

Math is JCA's less consistent subject. Fifth-grade math proficiency is 65.4%, above the state but far behind Bryan Road Elementary (88.9%) and Riverwood Elementary (87.5%). Riverwood is especially notable because it serves a 99.6% free/reduced-lunch population, yet it outperformed JCA in every overlapping grade and subject tested. Several other high-poverty neighbors, including Cleveland Elementary and Powhatan Elementary, also beat JCA on multiple K–5 exams. The only tested grade and subject currently below the state average is 7th grade math (50.0% vs. 56.2%), but there is clear upward momentum: 4th grade math jumped 21 points in a single year, and 8th grade math has climbed from 32.6% to 59.4% over three years.