Kenansville Elementary

Kenansville Elementary serves 599 students in grades K-8 in Kenansville, NC, a small town within Duplin County Schools, a district ranked in the bottom fifth of North Carolina districts where virtually every student (99.5%) qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. Despite that challenging context, Kenansville Elementary is a relative bright spot within its county, ranking second among nearby Duplin elementary schools and outperforming Wallace Elementary, Rose Hill-Magnolia Elementary, Warsaw Elementary, Beulaville Elementary, and B F Grady Elementary.

The school's clearest strengths are in the early grades and in attendance. 4th grade math proficiency (59.4%) lands within two points of the state average, and 3rd grade math (61.7%) also approaches state-level performance — far ahead of nearby Wallace Elementary, where 4th grade math sits at just 26.8%. Chronic absenteeism has improved for three consecutive years, falling to 18.5% in 2024-25, which is better than the state's 24.2% rate. The school also posts a notably strong subgroup result for African American students, who rank at the 55th percentile statewide — well above the school's overall 30th-percentile ranking.

The biggest internal challenge is the transition to middle-school-grade content. Math proficiency declines steadily from 61.7% in 3rd grade to 34.8% in 8th grade, and 8th grade reading (32.6%) runs about 24 points below the state average. 8th grade science (43.5%) also trails Chinquapin Elementary's 75.4%, even though Chinquapin ranks lower overall. The most urgent concern, however, is special education: that subgroup ranks at only the 6th percentile statewide, signaling a serious gap in serving students with disabilities. While Kenansville's statewide percentile has drifted downward over the past several years, its strong early-grade results, improving attendance, and solid performance relative to nearby Duplin schools offer a more encouraging picture than the district's overall ranking suggests.