Winterfield Elementary

Winterfield Elementary is a high-poverty school in east Charlotte serving 461 students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as part of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, with 99.35% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. Historically, Winterfield has ranked in the bottom 5–17 percent of North Carolina elementary schools, but its most recent 2025-26 ranking improved to 1,243 of 1,492 schools (17th percentile, 1 star), up from a 0-star ranking the prior year — its best result in recent history.

Reading remains the biggest concern. Just 22.5% of 3rd graders and 20.3% of 4th graders are proficient, a gap of roughly 33–39 points behind district and state averages, while 5th grade reading is still more than 20 points back at 32.8%. Math is more encouraging: 3rd grade math reached 54.9% and 5th grade math reached 65.7% — above the state average and nearly matching the district — though 4th grade math sits at 37.8%. Science proficiency also jumped from 42.6% to 63.6%. Winterfield remains below similarly high-poverty nearby schools such as Idlewild Elementary, Charlotte East Language Academy, Windsor Park Elementary, and Oakhurst STEAM Academy, all of which rank in the 49th to 67th percentile statewide.

Chronic absenteeism affects 27.7% of students, close to the district rate of 26.8% and down from 36.5% two years earlier. Outcomes vary significantly by student group: African American students rank in the 75th percentile statewide (4 stars), English Learner students rose from the 14th to the 56th percentile, and low-income students improved to the 33rd percentile. Hispanic students, by contrast, rank at the 13th percentile. Winterfield is showing signs of meaningful improvement with large one-year test-score gains in most grades, but persistently low reading scores keep it in the bottom fifth of North Carolina elementary schools.