Rochelle Middle

Rochelle Middle is a public middle school in Kinston, NC, serving about 517 students in grades 6–8 as part of Lenoir County Public Schools. Over the past decade, the school has consistently ranked in the bottom 10–12 percent of North Carolina middle schools, and its 0-star rating in 2025–2026 places it in the 7th percentile statewide. Nearly all students (96.9%) come from economically disadvantaged households, but the academic struggles go far beyond what poverty alone would predict.

The most striking issue is how far Rochelle Middle lags behind nearby schools in the same district. While Woodington Middle ranks in the 54th percentile and E B Frink Middle in the 37th, Rochelle sits at the 7th percentile. In 8th grade math, only 10.6% of Rochelle students scored proficient, compared to about 50% at both E B Frink and Woodington. Reading tells a similar story: 30.4% proficiency at Rochelle versus 48.9% at E B Frink and 54.1% at Woodington. All three schools serve similarly high-poverty populations, so demographics do not explain the gap.

Rochelle Middle also spends more per student ($11,035) than any nearby middle school, yet it has the largest student-teacher ratio (20.0) in the comparison group, suggesting resources are not being directed into smaller classes. Chronic absenteeism, however, is not the culprit — at 24.6%, it is actually lower than several higher-performing neighbors. The closest high-achieving comparisons, like Spring Creek Middle and Ayden Middle, prove that schools serving similar communities can achieve far better outcomes. For parents, the bottom line is that Rochelle Middle faces persistent, schoolwide challenges in instruction and resource allocation that need urgent attention.