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Ward Elementary

Q: Is Ward Elementary a good school?

Ward Elementary ranks in the bottom 19.7% of North Carolina elementary schools.

Q: How many students attend Ward Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 489 students attended Ward Elementary.

Q: What is the racial makeup of Ward Elementary?

Students at Ward Elementary are 36% African American, 33% Hispanic, 20% White, 7% Two or more races, 4% Asian.

Q: What schools do graduates of Ward Elementary attend?

Students who attend Ward Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Clemmons Middle School High : Early College of Forsyth County High : Middle College of Forsyth County

Public Grades PK, KG-5

1198^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,492 North Carolina Elementary Schools

Better than 20% of North Carolina elementary schools

Summary

Ward Elementary is a public PK-5 school in Winston-Salem, NC, serving 489 students in the Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools district. The school serves an almost entirely low-income population, with 99.4% of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch, and it maintains a favorable 13.2:1 student-teacher ratio. However, Ward's academic performance has been consistently low over the past decade. The school currently ranks at the 20th percentile statewide (#1198 of 1492) with a 1-star rating, and its proficiency rates in reading, math, and science generally run below both district and state averages.

Ward's results are not predetermined by poverty. Just 2.2 miles away, Clemmons Elementary serves a nearly identical population (99.6% low-income) yet ranks at the 87th percentile statewide. Frank Morgan Elementary, 3.2 miles away, is also about 99.6% low-income and ranks at the 74th percentile. Ward's chronic absenteeism rate of 30.4% is better than several low-performing peers like South Fork Elementary (36.4%) and Bolton Elementary (35.1%), but far worse than Clemmons (11.9%) and Frank Morgan (17.7%). The school also shows a troubling slide in its current 5th-grade cohort: math proficiency falls from 60.0% in 3rd grade to 38.6% in 5th grade, reading drops from 52.9% to 33.7%, and 5th-grade science proficiency sits at just 39.5% versus 63.6% districtwide.

One clear strength stands out: Ward's English Learner programming appears to be working well. The ELL subgroup ranked at the 79th percentile statewide in 2024-25, and Hispanic students also showed relative strength — a sign that effective supports exist and could be expanded to other groups. The bigger takeaway for parents is that nearby schools with the same poverty levels achieve dramatically higher outcomes, which means improvement is possible. Ward would likely benefit from studying the instructional strategies and attendance interventions used at Clemmons and Frank Morgan while continuing to build on the multilingual supports that are already showing results.

489

Students ?

13.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

99.4%

Free/discounted lunch ?

3775 Fraternity Church Road
Winston Salem, NC 27127

(336) 703-4235

District: Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools

Students who attend Ward Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Clemmons Middle School
High:	Early College of Forsyth County
	Middle College of Forsyth County

Racial breakdown:

African American:

36.2%

Hispanic:

32.9%

White:

19.6%

See top rated North Carolina elementary schools

Compare Ward Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 24th percentile in 2016 → 20th in 2026

Worth a look

!Test scores below the North Carolina average (46% vs 61% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (20th percentile)

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school46%

District avg58%

North Carolina avg61%

1,198^th of 1,492

North Carolina public elementary schools ?

Bottom 20%▼ down 5 pts since 2016

From bottom 24% (2016) to bottom 20% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of North Carolina Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

159^th of 246Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools among North Carolina districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	24.4	1198 of 1492	19.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	31.8	1062 of 1490	28.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	19.2	1299 of 1505	13.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	31.1	1073 of 1502	28.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	17.3	1330 of 1514	12.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	16.0	1294 of 1489	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	24.4	1198 of 1473	18.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	21.6	1192 of 1434	16.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	30.7	1069 of 1429	25.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	29.8	1077 of 1425	24.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	33.8	1023 of 1440	29.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	51.2	687 of 1390	50.6%	★★★☆☆
2013	31.8	1006 of 1403	28.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	35.2	1009 of 1388	27.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	36.7	966 of 1381	30.1%	★★☆☆☆
2010	44.4	858 of 1363	37.1%	★★☆☆☆
2009	58.0	652 of 1354	51.8%	★★★☆☆
2008	50.6	700 of 1324	47.1%	★★☆☆☆
2007	61.7	517 of 1293	60.0%	★★★☆☆
2006	57.0	584 of 1276	54.2%	★★★☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	30.6	691 of 903	23.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	48.6	447 of 918	51.3%	★★★☆☆
2024	30.7	702 of 924	24.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	49.5	437 of 933	53.2%	★★★☆☆
2022	33.0	658 of 927	29.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	27.2	690 of 896	23.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	35.2	661 of 949	30.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	38.1	598 of 927	35.5%	★★☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2022	49.7	252 of 634	60.3%	★★★☆☆
2021	16.2	633 of 646	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	17.7	825 of 878	6.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	21.9	795 of 897	11.4%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	46.2	255 of 519	50.9%	★★★☆☆
2025	65.5	116 of 563	79.4%	★★★★☆
2024	54.6	180 of 533	66.2%	★★★☆☆
2023	44.5	257 of 514	50.0%	★★★☆☆
2022	41.4	268 of 485	44.7%	★★☆☆☆
2019	40.8	285 of 497	42.7%	★★☆☆☆
2018	32.8	311 of 421	26.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	27.8	1122 of 1447	22.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	37.5	940 of 1451	35.2%	★★☆☆☆
2024	22.2	1219 of 1455	16.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	30.9	1070 of 1459	26.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	16.2	1320 of 1458	9.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	15.6	1275 of 1440	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	26.8	1135 of 1424	20.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	22.2	1184 of 1405	15.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2019	0.0	612 of 612	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	46.4	540 of 981	45.0%	★★☆☆☆
2025	52.9	441 of 961	54.1%	★★★☆☆
2024	36.3	653 of 951	31.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	39.2	581 of 915	36.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	29.2	709 of 893	20.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	33.3	592 of 843	29.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	46.3	473 of 865	45.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	29.0	686 of 851	19.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	32.5	1074 of 1434	25.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	42.2	860 of 1437	40.2%	★★☆☆☆
2024	27.6	1174 of 1450	19.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	43.7	833 of 1437	42.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	25.2	1138 of 1366	16.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	21.6	1116 of 1329	16.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	31.6	1026 of 1361	24.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	28.1	1053 of 1332	20.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	23.7	1192 of 1451	17.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	28.2	1099 of 1450	24.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	18.3	1280 of 1464	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	32.7	1041 of 1461	28.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	21.0	1212 of 1464	17.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	18.2	1211 of 1444	16.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	24.2	1178 of 1430	17.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	23.7	1166 of 1413	17.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2023	43.7	86 of 154	44.2%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	30.1	616 of 815	24.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	29.2	631 of 821	23.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	28.1	633 of 801	21.0%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	24.5	960 of 1146	16.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	26.0	951 of 1172	18.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	19.3	1031 of 1166	11.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	21.8	1019 of 1183	13.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	8.9	1160 of 1194	2.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	6.1	1162 of 1172	0.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	15.0	1099 of 1183	7.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	18.0	1084 of 1178	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Disabled (2022)60th percentile+48 vs school

English Language Learner (2026)51st percentile+31 vs school

Hispanic (2026)45th percentile+25 vs school

Multi-racial (2023)44th percentile+16 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)25th percentile+5 vs school

Special Education (2026)24th percentile+5 vs school

African American (2026)23rd percentile+4 vs school

Female (2026)22nd percentile+3 vs school

Male (2026)18th percentile~ school

White (2026)16th percentile-3 vs school

Gifted and Talented (2019)<1st percentile-19 vs school

By subject vs North Carolina (2025-2026) ?

Mathematics50%-14 vs state

Reading44%-12 vs state

Science40%-28 vs state

5.0

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Schools Near Ward Elementary

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Ranking:

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Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				EOG Mathematics (2026)			EOG Reading (2026)			EOG Science (2026)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	EOG Mathematics 3rd Grade	EOG Mathematics 4th Grade	EOG Mathematics 5th Grade	EOG Reading 3rd Grade	EOG Reading 4th Grade	EOG Reading 5th Grade	EOG Science 5th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Ward Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	3775 Fraternity Church Road	Winston Salem	27127	Forsyth County	Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(336) 703-4235	489	37	13.2	99.4%	96 (19.6%)	177 (36.2%)	161 (32.9%)	18 (3.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	36 (7.4%)	24.4	1198^th of 1492 public elementary schools	19.7%		31.8	1062^nd of 1490 public elementary schools	28.7%	136	60.0	50.6	38.6	52.9	45.1	33.7	39.5	$9,790	$1,152	$8,638
Clemmons Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	6200 Bingham Avenue	Clemmons	27012	Forsyth County	Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools	No	No	No	No	(336) 703-4210	839	52	16.0	99.6%	490 (58.4%)	90 (10.7%)	128 (15.3%)	65 (7.7%)	2 (0.2%)	2 (0.2%)	62 (7.4%)	83.8	193^rd of 1492 public elementary schools	87.1%		91.8	85^th of 1490 public elementary schools	94.3%	108	82.8	82.5	81.7	76.1	79.7	60.6	74.6	$8,630	$512	$8,117
Kimmel Farm Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	4672 Ebert Rd	Winston Salem	27127	Forsyth County	Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(336) 703-6760	760	50	15.1	99.6%	107 (14.1%)	385 (50.7%)	179 (23.6%)	17 (2.2%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	70 (9.2%)	45.2	821^st of 1492 public elementary schools	45.0%		39.9	919^th of 1490 public elementary schools	38.3%	98	57.8	55.2	61.8	53.2	55.2	51.8	64.5	$8,939	$994	$7,946
Frank Morgan Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	3210 Village Point Drive	Clemmons	27012	Forsyth County	Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools	No	No	No	No	(336) 703-4148	761	51	14.8	99.6%	338 (44.4%)	123 (16.2%)	204 (26.8%)	21 (2.8%)	3 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	72 (9.5%)	71.1	393^rd of 1492 public elementary schools	73.7%		78	278^th of 1490 public elementary schools	81.3%	115	79.7	76.7	69.1	69.5	62.5	54.4	72.6	$9,402	$636	$8,766
Southwest Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1631 Southwest School Drive	Clemmons	27012	Forsyth County	Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools	No	No	No	No	(336) 703-4195	546	36	15.0	37.7%	352 (64.5%)	53 (9.7%)	67 (12.3%)	28 (5.1%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	45 (8.2%)	85.8	168^th of 1492 public elementary schools	88.7%		84.9	175^th of 1490 public elementary schools	88.3%	7	78.4	73.5	82.7	71.6	71.4	76.5	91.4	$9,396	$732	$8,664
South Fork Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	4332 Country Club Road	Winston Salem	27104	Forsyth County	Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(336) 703-4231	503	41	12.4	99.4%	53 (10.5%)	220 (43.7%)	145 (28.8%)	48 (9.5%)	3 (0.6%)	1 (0.2%)	33 (6.6%)	13	1386^th of 1492 public elementary schools	7.1%		14.2	1360^th of 1490 public elementary schools	8.7%	26	45.2	48.1	35.1	39.7	32.5	28.4	47.3	$12,604	$2,133	$10,471
Friedberg Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1131 Friedberg Church Road	Winston Salem	27127	Forsyth County	Davidson County Schools	No	No	No	No	(336) 764-2059	468	29	16.3	45.7%	329 (70.3%)	42 (9.0%)	55 (11.8%)	12 (2.6%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	27 (5.8%)	53.5	675^th of 1492 public elementary schools	54.8%		72.3	359^th of 1490 public elementary schools	75.9%	316	69.4	56.6	57.1	63.9	51.3	50.0	77.1	$7,582	$483	$7,099
Bolton Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1250 Bolton Street	Winston Salem	27103	Forsyth County	Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(336) 703-4247	380	32	12.0	99.2%	31 (8.2%)	201 (52.9%)	116 (30.5%)	2 (0.5%)	1 (0.3%)	3 (0.8%)	26 (6.8%)	26.3	1165^th of 1492 public elementary schools	21.9%		30.6	1080^th of 1490 public elementary schools	27.5%	85	63.8	40.8	45.0	53.4	44.9	27.9	54.1	$12,762	$2,058	$10,705
Griffith Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1385 W Clemmonsville Road	Winston Salem	27127	Forsyth County	Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(336) 703-4245	621	44	14.1	99.5%	58 (9.3%)	257 (41.4%)	259 (41.7%)	11 (1.8%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.2%)	33 (5.3%)	34.7	1015^th of 1492 public elementary schools	32.0%		32.3	1054^th of 1490 public elementary schools	29.3%	39	62.5	56.8	53.8	45.5	47.3	38.5	62.6	$10,374	$1,739	$8,635
Moore Magnet Elementary	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	451 Knollwood Street	Winston Salem	27103	Forsyth County	Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools	No	Yes	No	Yes	(336) 727-2860	450	34	13.3	99.3%	93 (20.7%)	247 (54.9%)	65 (14.4%)	9 (2.0%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	34 (7.6%)	25.2	1184^th of 1492 public elementary schools	20.6%		35.4	991^st of 1490 public elementary schools	33.5%	193	62.4	37.3	39.1	63.5	40.0	37.0	42.4	$10,512	$1,383	$9,128

Frequently Asked Questions about Ward Elementary

What is the racial makeup of Ward Elementary?

Students at Ward Elementary are 36% African American, 33% Hispanic, 20% White, 7% Two or more races, 4% Asian.

Is Ward Elementary a good school?

Ward Elementary ranks in the bottom 19.7% of North Carolina elementary schools.

What district is Ward Elementary in?

Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools

How many students attend Ward Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 489 students attended Ward Elementary.

What schools do graduates of Ward Elementary attend?

Students who attend Ward Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Clemmons Middle School
High : Early College of Forsyth County
High : Middle College of Forsyth County

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Latest North Carolina data All new data »

2017–18 through 2025–26 attendance data & graduation ratesSep 2, 2026

2025–26 EOC & EOG test scoresSep 2, 2026

2016–17 through 2024–25 graduation ratesSep 3, 2025

2024–25 EOC & EOG test scoresSep 3, 2025

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.