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W Jesse Gurganus Elementary

Public Grades K-5

120^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,492 North Carolina Elementary Schools

Better than 92% of North Carolina elementary schools

Summary

W Jesse Gurganus Elementary is a K–5 school in Havelock, NC, serving about 340 students as part of the Craven County Board of Education, a district that ranks in the middle of the state overall. Gurganus, however, is a remarkable outlier. In 2025–26, it ranked 120th out of 1,492 North Carolina elementary schools — the 92nd percentile with a 5-star rating. This is not a one-year fluke: the school has ranked in the 89th–96th percentile every year for the past decade, making it one of the most consistently high-performing elementary schools in eastern North Carolina.

On state EOG tests, Gurganus beats both its district and the state by wide margins in every subject and grade. Third-grade math proficiency was 92.1%, versus 67.6% for the district, and 5th grade science hit 87.9%, compared with 64.3% for the district. The contrast with nearby schools is striking. Arthur W Edwards Elementary, less than a mile away, serves a similar share of low-income students yet trails Gurganus by 30 to 48 percentage points. Graham A Barden Elementary and Havelock Elementary, both within about three miles, rank in the bottom 11% and 7% of the state, respectively. Only Creekside Elementary, nine miles away, competes at the same level. Gurganus achieves this without unusually high funding: its per-pupil spending is lower than several nearby schools that score far worse.

Gurganus also stands out for how well it serves all of its students. About 46% qualify for free/reduced lunch, yet the school ranks in the 94th percentile statewide for low-income student performance. It is also one of North Carolina's best schools for military-connected families, ranking 6th among 67 such schools in 2025–26 — especially relevant given its proximity to Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point. Chronic absenteeism is just 7.3%, less than a third of the state average, and the student-teacher ratio is about 14 to 1. Math and science are particular strengths, and reading is well above average in every grade. For parents in Havelock, Gurganus is an island of excellence that delivers top-tier results year after year.

340

Students ?

13.8

Student/teacher ratio ?

46.2%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

535 Hwy 70 W
Havelock, NC 28532-9435

(252) 444-5150

District: Craven County Board of Education

Students who attend W Jesse Gurganus Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Tucker Creek Middle
High:	Havelock High

Racial breakdown:

White:

60.9%

Hispanic:

14.7%

Two or more races:

13.8%

See top rated North Carolina elementary schools

Compare W Jesse Gurganus Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 90th percentile in 2016 → 92nd in 2026

Strengths

✓Test scores above the North Carolina average (81% vs 61% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 8% of North Carolina elementary schools

Worth a look

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

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school81%

District avg57%

North Carolina avg61%

120^th of 1,492

North Carolina public elementary schools ?

Top 8%▲ up 2 pts since 2016

See the entire ranking list of North Carolina Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

142^nd of 246Craven County Board of Education 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	89.6	120 of 1492	92.0%	★★★★★
2025	88.0	138 of 1490	90.7%	★★★★★
2024	88.3	137 of 1505	90.9%	★★★★★
2023	87.5	140 of 1502	90.7%	★★★★★
2022	87.1	146 of 1514	90.4%	★★★★★
2021	87.8	157 of 1489	89.5%	★★★★☆
2019	87.4	134 of 1473	90.9%	★★★★★
2018	93.0	53 of 1434	96.3%	★★★★★
2017	91.2	75 of 1429	94.8%	★★★★★
2016	85.9	144 of 1425	89.9%	★★★★☆
2015	86.0	145 of 1440	89.9%	★★★★☆
2014	89.1	116 of 1390	91.7%	★★★★★
2013	85.4	152 of 1403	89.2%	★★★★☆
2012	84.1	118 of 1388	91.5%	★★★★★
2011	81.5	179 of 1381	87.0%	★★★★☆
2010	78.6	227 of 1363	83.3%	★★★★☆
2009	85.8	114 of 1354	91.6%	★★★★★
2008	83.6	142 of 1324	89.3%	★★★★☆
2007	82.7	125 of 1293	90.3%	★★★★★
2006	76.4	225 of 1276	82.4%	★★★★☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2023	94.4	19 of 933	98.0%	★★★★★
2019	90.9	42 of 949	95.6%	★★★★★
2018	95.9	7 of 927	99.2%	★★★★★

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	89.7	98 of 1447	93.2%	★★★★★
2025	88.1	117 of 1451	91.9%	★★★★★
2024	83.9	172 of 1455	88.2%	★★★★☆
2023	87.7	114 of 1459	92.2%	★★★★★
2022	84.4	161 of 1458	89.0%	★★★★☆
2021	85.6	157 of 1440	89.1%	★★★★☆
2019	83.4	164 of 1424	88.5%	★★★★☆
2018	93.5	33 of 1405	97.7%	★★★★★

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	69.2	31 of 743	95.8%	★★★★★
2025	70.7	75 of 710	89.4%	★★★★☆
2024	71.1	22 of 669	96.7%	★★★★★
2023	68.3	48 of 582	91.8%	★★★★★
2022	61.6	222 of 500	55.6%	★★★☆☆
2021	71.7	91 of 494	81.6%	★★★★☆
2019	49.5	458 of 612	25.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	89.3	50 of 961	94.8%	★★★★★
2024	91.5	38 of 951	96.0%	★★★★★
2023	79.9	105 of 915	88.5%	★★★★☆
2019	97.3	5 of 865	99.4%	★★★★★
2018	95.7	9 of 851	98.9%	★★★★★

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	87.1	85 of 1434	94.1%	★★★★★
2025	93.3	28 of 1437	98.1%	★★★★★
2024	91.6	41 of 1450	97.2%	★★★★★
2023	92.4	28 of 1437	98.1%	★★★★★
2022	83.2	109 of 1366	92.0%	★★★★★
2021	91.2	49 of 1329	96.3%	★★★★★
2019	89.0	63 of 1361	95.4%	★★★★★
2018	97.2	5 of 1332	99.6%	★★★★★

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	84.8	167 of 1451	88.5%	★★★★☆
2025	84.8	165 of 1450	88.6%	★★★★☆
2024	89.3	104 of 1464	92.9%	★★★★★
2023	84.2	166 of 1461	88.6%	★★★★☆
2022	86.0	154 of 1464	89.5%	★★★★☆
2021	87.5	140 of 1444	90.3%	★★★★★
2019	88.3	111 of 1430	92.2%	★★★★★
2018	82.4	186 of 1413	86.8%	★★★★☆

Military Connected

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	84.6	6 of 67	91.0%	★★★★★
2025	80.1	5 of 72	93.1%	★★★★★
2024	87.4	3 of 75	96.0%	★★★★★
2023	70.3	18 of 81	77.8%	★★★★☆
2022	69.0	18 of 85	78.8%	★★★★☆
2021	72.2	18 of 76	76.3%	★★★★☆
2019	83.8	4 of 72	94.4%	★★★★★
2018	87.4	3 of 76	96.1%	★★★★★

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2022	52.3	59 of 133	55.6%	★★★☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	86.2	97 of 1146	91.5%	★★★★★
2025	73.7	273 of 1172	76.7%	★★★★☆
2024	76.0	243 of 1166	79.2%	★★★★☆
2023	76.9	223 of 1183	81.1%	★★★★☆
2022	82.5	158 of 1194	86.8%	★★★★☆
2021	84.0	138 of 1172	88.2%	★★★★☆
2019	70.7	310 of 1183	73.8%	★★★★☆
2018	86.3	100 of 1178	91.5%	★★★★★

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)

African American (2023)98th percentile+7 vs school

Gifted and Talented (2026)96th percentile+4 vs school

Hispanic (2025)95th percentile+4 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)94th percentile~ school

Female (2026)93rd percentile~ school

White (2026)92nd percentile~ school

Military Connected (2026)91st percentile~ school

Male (2026)88th percentile-3 vs school

Multi-racial (2022)56th percentile-35 vs school

By subject vs North Carolina (2025-2026) ?

Science88%+20 vs state

Mathematics87%+23 vs state

Reading72%+16 vs state

★

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Schools Near W Jesse Gurganus Elementary

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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/reduced lunch (2024-25)	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 Mathematics 6th Grade	EOG Mathematics 7th Grade	EOG Mathematics 8th Grade	EOG Reading 3rd Grade	EOG Reading 4th Grade	EOG Reading 5th Grade	EOG Reading 6th Grade	EOG Reading 7th Grade	EOG Reading 8th Grade	EOG Science 5th Grade	EOG Science 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
W Jesse Gurganus Elementary	Public	K-5	535 Hwy 70 W	Havelock	28532	Craven County	Craven County Board of Education	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 444-5150	340	25	13.8	46.2%	207 (60.9%)	29 (8.5%)	50 (14.7%)	3 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.2%)	47 (13.8%)	89.6	120^th of 1492 public elementary schools	92.0%		88	138^th of 1490 public elementary schools	90.7%	18	92.1	90.5	81.0				76.3	76.2	67.2				87.9		$10,110	$977	$9,133
Arthur W Edwards Elementary	Public	K-5	200 Education Lane	Havelock	28532	Craven County	Craven County Board of Education	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 444-5140	489	33	14.8	48.5%	275 (56.2%)	48 (9.8%)	104 (21.3%)	4 (0.8%)	1 (0.2%)	3 (0.6%)	54 (11.0%)	27.7	1144^th of 1492 public elementary schools	23.3%		40.1	913^th of 1490 public elementary schools	38.7%	231	43.6	53.1	51.7				39.7	49.4	48.3				56.7		$9,857	$1,096	$8,761
Graham A Barden Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	200 Cedar Drive	Havelock	28532	Craven County	Craven County Board of Education	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 444-5100	237	17	14.0	92.0%	101 (42.6%)	44 (18.6%)	61 (25.7%)	2 (0.8%)	1 (0.4%)	2 (0.8%)	26 (11.0%)	17	1334^th of 1492 public elementary schools	10.6%		26.1	1152^nd of 1490 public elementary schools	22.7%	182	63.0	24.2	15.4				37.0	33.3	50.0				46.2		$11,632	$1,529	$10,103
Havelock Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	201 Cunningham Boulevard	Havelock	28532	Craven County	Craven County Board of Education	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 444-5106	248	20	12.6	93.5%	100 (40.3%)	58 (23.4%)	33 (13.3%)	6 (2.4%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	50 (20.2%)	12.9	1388^th of 1492 public elementary schools	7.0%		41.3	894^th of 1490 public elementary schools	40.0%	494	51.3	40.6	27.9				35.9	43.8	30.2				46.5		$12,745	$1,955	$10,790
Roger Bell New Technical Academy	Public	PK, KG-5	804 Fontana Boulevard	Havelock	28532	Craven County	Craven County Board of Education	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 444-5133	408	24	16.8	97.8%	186 (45.6%)	101 (24.8%)	45 (11.0%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	73 (17.9%)	42.5	869^th of 1492 public elementary schools	41.8%		58.5	591^st of 1490 public elementary schools	60.3%	278	76.4	54.3	49.2				38.2	45.7	52.5				74.6		$11,854	$1,590	$10,264
Creekside Elementary	Public	K-5	2790 Landscape Drive	New Bern	28562	Craven County	Craven County Board of Education	No	No	No	No	(252) 514-4360	453	31	14.3	27.8%	302 (66.7%)	33 (7.3%)	72 (15.9%)	17 (3.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (6.4%)	90.6	108^th of 1492 public elementary schools	92.8%		90.8	99^th of 1490 public elementary schools	93.4%	9	83.1	88.6	90.0				69.9	75.9	76.7				93.3		$9,117	$852	$8,265
Newport Elementary	Public	K-5	219 Chatham St	Newport	28570	Carteret County	Carteret County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 223-4201	621	49	12.7	—	437 (70.4%)	39 (6.3%)	68 (11.0%)	2 (0.3%)	4 (0.6%)	4 (0.6%)	67 (10.8%)	62.4	543^rd of 1492 public elementary schools	63.6%		62.2	529^th of 1490 public elementary schools	64.5%	14	62.5	66.4	64.3				60.2	59.1	59.8				77.7		$10,259	$1,539	$8,720
Riverside Leadership Academy	Public, Charter	K-7	1955 Old Airport Rd	New Bern	28562	Craven County	Riverside Leadership Academy	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(252) 276-2150	374			—	221 (59.1%)	51 (13.6%)	46 (12.3%)	13 (3.5%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	41 (11.0%)	35.5	992^nd of 1492 public elementary schools	33.5%					(n/a)	51.9	29.2	52.2	44.9	58.0	36.8	48.1	50.0	43.5	59.2	68.0	55.3	76.1	60.5
Brinson Memorial Elementary	Public	K-5	319 Neuse Forest Avenue	New Bern	28560	Craven County	Craven County Board of Education	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 514-6431	446	29	15.4	97.5%	228 (51.1%)	86 (19.3%)	79 (17.7%)	4 (0.9%)	1 (0.2%)	3 (0.7%)	45 (10.1%)	53.5	674^th of 1492 public elementary schools	54.8%		55.5	644^th of 1490 public elementary schools	56.8%	30	75.6	74.1	46.4				54.4	70.7	53.6				58.3		$11,008	$1,379	$9,629
Bogue Sound Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	3323 Hwy 24	Newport	28570	Carteret County	Carteret County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 393-1279	416	31	13.3	—	319 (76.7%)	6 (1.4%)	61 (14.7%)	6 (1.4%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (5.5%)	80.5	238^th of 1492 public elementary schools	84.0%		86.3	154^th of 1490 public elementary schools	89.7%	84	75.7	76.2	83.3				57.1	68.3	74.4				84.6		$11,438	$1,048	$10,390

Frequently Asked Questions about W Jesse Gurganus Elementary

What schools do graduates of W Jesse Gurganus Elementary attend?

Students who attend W Jesse Gurganus Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Tucker Creek Middle
High : Havelock High

Is W Jesse Gurganus Elementary a good school?

Yes. W Jesse Gurganus Elementary ranks in the top 8.0% of North Carolina elementary schools.

What district is W Jesse Gurganus Elementary in?

Craven County Board of Education

What is the racial makeup of W Jesse Gurganus Elementary?

Students at W Jesse Gurganus Elementary are 61% White, 15% Hispanic, 14% Two or more races, 9% African American, 1% Pacific Islander.

How many students attend W Jesse Gurganus Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 340 students attended W Jesse Gurganus Elementary.

Rate W Jesse Gurganus Elementary!

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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.