Warsaw Elementary

Warsaw Elementary is a PK-8 school in Warsaw, North Carolina, serving 808 students within the Duplin County Schools district. The school serves a very high-poverty community, with 99.6% of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch. Academic performance has been consistently low: Warsaw ranked 1,399th out of 1,492 North Carolina schools in the most recent year, placing it in the 6th percentile with a 0-star rating. Chronic absenteeism is a significant concern, with 24.5% of students chronically absent — well above the district rate of 18.9%.

The most revealing comparison may be to nearby schools in the same district facing similar economic challenges. North Duplin Elementary, only about 10 miles away, serves an almost identical poverty profile yet ranks in the 46th percentile statewide. Kenansville Elementary ranks in the 30th percentile, and B F Grady Elementary in the 20th. Proficiency gaps are dramatic: in 5th grade math, just 15.4% of Warsaw students were proficient versus 52.8% at North Duplin and 50.9% at Kenansville. Warsaw also has the highest chronic absenteeism rate among comparable district schools, nearly double the rates at North Duplin (13.9%) and B F Grady (14.2%).

There are some relative bright spots. Warsaw's English Language Learner students perform at the 33rd percentile statewide, well above the school's overall ranking. Early-grade performance is stronger than upper grades, with 3rd grade math proficiency at 51.9% before declining sharply by 5th grade. The school also spends slightly more per student ($10,886) and has a lower student-teacher ratio (14.0) than several peers, suggesting resources alone don't explain the outcomes. However, ten years of rankings show no sustained turnaround, with the school consistently in the bottom tier of North Carolina schools. For parents, the comparison to North Duplin demonstrates that strong results are possible within the same district and community context.