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South Newton Elementary

Q: Is South Newton Elementary a good school?

South Newton Elementary ranks 846 th of 1492 North Carolina elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-5

846^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,492 North Carolina Elementary Schools

Better than 43% of North Carolina elementary schools

Summary

South Newton Elementary is a small pre-K–5 school in Newton, NC, serving 328 students as part of the Newton-Conover City Schools district, a system that ranks in the top 30% of all North Carolina districts. The school itself sits much closer to the middle of the statewide distribution, ranking 846th of 1,492 elementary schools in 2025-2026—the 43rd percentile, with a 2-star rating. It serves a very high-poverty population: 99.09% of students qualified for free or reduced lunch in 2024-2025.

The clearest takeaway is the gap between South Newton and its two same-district counterparts, North Newton Elementary and Shuford Elementary. Both schools have similar poverty rates yet rank near the 80th percentile—roughly 37 points higher than South Newton. The gap widens with each grade level: in 5th grade math, South Newton posted 60% proficiency versus 81% at North Newton and 86% at Shuford. Even in 3rd grade reading, only 46.7% of South Newton students were proficient, compared to 70.8% at North Newton and 55.7% at Shuford. Reading remains the school's most urgent issue, with proficiency below state averages at every grade level.

South Newton does have genuine strengths. Chronic absenteeism has fallen dramatically from 56.9% in 2020-2021 to 16.7% in 2024-2025—better than the district average of 20.7% and the state average of 24.2%. Special education students rank in the 69th percentile statewide, and low-income students perform slightly above the school's overall standing. However, the school spends more per student ($10,240) than its higher-performing counterparts and maintains a low student-teacher ratio of 14.6, yet still trails them academically. It is also worth noting that male students outperform female students by a wide margin, the reverse of statewide patterns. After gradual improvement over several years, the school's overall performance has plateaued in the 43rd–47th percentile for the last three years.

328

Students ?

14.6

Student/teacher ratio ?

99.1%

Free/discounted lunch ?

306 West I Street
Newton, NC 28658-3903

(828) 464-4061

District: Newton Conover City Schools

Students who attend South Newton Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Newton-Conover Middle
High:	Newton-Conover High

Racial breakdown:

White:

38.1%

Hispanic:

33.8%

African American:

15.9%

See top rated North Carolina elementary schools

Compare South Newton Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 44th percentile in 2016 → 43rd in 2026

Worth a look

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

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school57%

District avg68%

North Carolina avg61%

846^th of 1,492

North Carolina public elementary schools ?

Bottom 43%▬ steady since 2016

See the entire ranking list of North Carolina Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

72^nd of 246Newton Conover City 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	43.9	846 of 1492	43.3%	★★☆☆☆
2025	47.2	797 of 1490	46.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	44.1	854 of 1505	43.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	32.1	1056 of 1502	29.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	31.1	1069 of 1514	29.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	31.2	1010 of 1489	32.2%	★★☆☆☆
2019	42.9	875 of 1473	40.6%	★★☆☆☆
2018	34.2	1022 of 1434	28.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	41.3	900 of 1429	37.0%	★★☆☆☆
2016	46.6	803 of 1425	43.6%	★★☆☆☆
2015	40.2	910 of 1440	36.8%	★★☆☆☆
2014	42.3	812 of 1390	41.6%	★★☆☆☆
2013	35.5	937 of 1403	33.2%	★★☆☆☆
2012	33.4	1041 of 1388	25.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	49.1	806 of 1381	41.6%	★★☆☆☆
2010	29.8	1062 of 1363	22.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	27.1	1065 of 1354	21.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	27.9	1038 of 1324	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	24.4	1095 of 1293	15.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	38.7	881 of 1276	31.0%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	43.9	516 of 903	42.9%	★★☆☆☆
2025	82.4	89 of 918	90.3%	★★★★★
2024	49.6	432 of 924	53.2%	★★★☆☆
2023	29.1	704 of 933	24.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	61.5	273 of 927	70.6%	★★★★☆
2019	34.5	677 of 949	28.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2018	44.0	462 of 897	48.5%	★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2023	18.5	477 of 514	7.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	21.9	434 of 485	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	56.8	105 of 385	72.7%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	32.2	1048 of 1447	27.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	34.6	998 of 1451	31.2%	★★☆☆☆
2024	40.2	898 of 1455	38.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	30.5	1075 of 1459	26.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	26.4	1136 of 1458	22.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	27.2	1055 of 1440	26.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	45.0	826 of 1424	42.0%	★★☆☆☆
2018	40.6	916 of 1405	34.8%	★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	32.1	727 of 981	25.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	35.8	649 of 961	32.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	39.0	610 of 951	35.9%	★★☆☆☆
2023	39.5	577 of 915	36.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	32.2	672 of 893	24.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	32.4	603 of 843	28.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	57.6	331 of 865	61.7%	★★★☆☆
2018	39.2	558 of 851	34.4%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	51.1	662 of 1434	53.8%	★★★☆☆
2025	53.4	620 of 1437	56.9%	★★★☆☆
2024	54.4	610 of 1450	57.9%	★★★☆☆
2023	36.1	974 of 1437	32.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	39.6	859 of 1366	37.1%	★★☆☆☆
2021	33.4	899 of 1329	32.4%	★★☆☆☆
2019	56.2	557 of 1361	59.1%	★★★☆☆
2018	37.4	908 of 1332	31.8%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	56.8	605 of 1451	58.3%	★★★☆☆
2025	58.3	578 of 1450	60.1%	★★★☆☆
2024	48.7	769 of 1464	47.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	34.7	1005 of 1461	31.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	36.9	944 of 1464	35.5%	★★☆☆☆
2021	43.5	796 of 1444	44.9%	★★☆☆☆
2019	41.4	889 of 1430	37.8%	★★☆☆☆
2018	33.2	1037 of 1413	26.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2019	31.7	81 of 103	21.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	58.3	253 of 815	69.0%	★★★☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	43.7	698 of 1146	39.1%	★★☆☆☆
2025	42.8	720 of 1172	38.6%	★★☆☆☆
2024	48.9	627 of 1166	46.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	49.6	614 of 1183	48.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	43.1	713 of 1194	40.3%	★★☆☆☆
2021	34.5	803 of 1172	31.5%	★★☆☆☆
2019	49.5	620 of 1183	47.6%	★★☆☆☆
2018	29.2	952 of 1178	19.2%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

Special Education (2026)69th percentile+26 vs school

Male (2026)58th percentile+15 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)54th percentile+11 vs school

Disabled (2018)48th percentile+20 vs school

African American (2026)43rd percentile~ school

White (2026)39th percentile-4 vs school

Female (2026)28th percentile-16 vs school

Hispanic (2026)26th percentile-17 vs school

Multi-racial (2019)21st percentile-19 vs school

English Language Learner (2023)7th percentile-22 vs school

By subject vs North Carolina (2025-2026) ?

Mathematics63%~ state avg

Science62%-6 vs state

Reading48%-8 vs state

5.0

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What people are saying

by a parent
Saturday, January 27, 2018

South newton is an absolute pleasure! The teachers are more than spectacular, so caring and helpful. They make sure the students learn they need too and make sure they have fun doing so. I really love the "7 habits" from kinder they teach them to be kind amd loving as well as educated. The anti bully policies are a bonus. Close Quote

Schools Near South Newton 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 Mathematics 6th Grade	EOG Reading 3rd Grade	EOG Reading 4th Grade	EOG Reading 5th Grade	EOG Reading 6th Grade	EOG Science 5th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
South Newton Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	306 West I Street	Newton	28658	Catawba County	Newton Conover City Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 464-4061	328	22	14.6	99.1%	125 (38.1%)	52 (15.9%)	111 (33.8%)	18 (5.5%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (6.4%)	43.9	846^th of 1492 public elementary schools	43.3%		47.2	797^th of 1490 public elementary schools	46.5%	49	70.0	58.2	60.0		46.7	49.1	50.0		62.0	$10,240	$1,623	$8,616
North Newton Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	221 West 26th St	Newton	28658	Catawba County	Newton Conover City Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 464-2631	388	27	14.1	99.2%	116 (29.9%)	45 (11.6%)	144 (37.1%)	39 (10.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	44 (11.3%)	75.8	305^th of 1492 public elementary schools	79.6%		73.2	342^nd of 1490 public elementary schools	77.0%	37	81.5	73.9	80.9		70.8	60.9	55.9		77.9	$9,113	$1,522	$7,591
Startown Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	4119 Startown Road	Newton	28658	Catawba County	Catawba County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 464-1257	540	34	15.7	99.4%	289 (53.5%)	32 (5.9%)	103 (19.1%)	60 (11.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	56 (10.4%)	46.8	787^th of 1492 public elementary schools	47.3%		54.5	660^th of 1490 public elementary schools	55.7%	127	87.1	61.4	51.8	57.1	65.7	42.9	48.2	51.4	54.2	$9,647	$1,184	$8,463
Shuford Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	810 Hunsucker Drive	Conover	28613	Catawba County	Newton Conover City Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 464-1973	402	27	15.1	96.3%	161 (40.0%)	26 (6.5%)	120 (29.9%)	47 (11.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	48 (11.9%)	75.5	313^th of 1492 public elementary schools	79.0%		65.9	468^th of 1490 public elementary schools	68.6%	155	74.3	79.2	85.5		55.7	63.9	59.4		87.0	$8,223	$1,056	$7,167
Maiden Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	245 Bob Smyre Ave	Maiden	28650	Catawba County	Catawba County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 428-8769	562	32	17.6	98.9%	357 (63.5%)	48 (8.5%)	92 (16.4%)	26 (4.6%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (6.4%)	70.9	398^th of 1492 public elementary schools	73.3%		67.8	431^st of 1490 public elementary schools	71.1%	33	81.4	67.9	78.0	74.1	65.7	60.7	57.3	51.9	78.0	$9,171	$1,063	$8,108
Saint Stephens Elementary	Public	K-6	684 30th Street NE	Conover	28613	Catawba County	Catawba County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 256-2570	711	47	15.0	99.6%	194 (27.3%)	146 (20.5%)	254 (35.7%)	48 (6.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	69 (9.7%)	21.3	1260^th of 1492 public elementary schools	15.5%		18.1	1313^th of 1490 public elementary schools	11.9%	53	60.6	33.7	41.7	46.9	35.6	42.6	42.7	36.7	55.2	$9,685	$1,747	$7,938
Balls Creek Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	2620 Balls Creek Road	Newton	28658	Catawba County	Catawba County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 464-4766	686	42	16.4	99.6%	508 (74.1%)	29 (4.2%)	65 (9.5%)	36 (5.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	48 (7.0%)	69.3	429^th of 1492 public elementary schools	71.2%		68.4	418^th of 1490 public elementary schools	71.9%	11	69.9	70.6	75.5	88.1	55.3	65.7	57.8	51.5	79.4	$9,471	$1,315	$8,156
Webb A Murray Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	3901 Section House Road	Hickory	28601	Catawba County	Catawba County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 256-2196	380	27	13.9	99.2%	102 (26.8%)	37 (9.7%)	184 (48.4%)	29 (7.6%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (7.1%)	23.5	1213^th of 1492 public elementary schools	18.7%		37.4	957^th of 1490 public elementary schools	35.8%	256	47.7	42.0	46.9	52.1	31.8	40.0	38.8	54.2	53.1	$10,328	$1,457	$8,872
Charles H Tuttle Elementary	Public	K-6	2872 Water Plant Road	Maiden	28650	Catawba County	Catawba County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 428-3080	368	22	16.8	99.2%	262 (71.2%)	4 (1.1%)	54 (14.7%)	25 (6.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (6.3%)	58.5	607^th of 1492 public elementary schools	59.3%		63.2	508^th of 1490 public elementary schools	65.9%	99	54.5	75.0	61.2	72.3	56.8	69.6	44.9	53.8	67.3	$9,003	$737	$8,265
Blackburn Elementary	Public	K-6	4377 W NC 10 Hwy	Newton	28658	Catawba County	Catawba County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 462-1344	484	28	17.3	99.0%	277 (57.2%)	24 (5.0%)	82 (16.9%)	60 (12.4%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	39 (8.1%)	61.5	556^th of 1492 public elementary schools	62.7%		65.3	479^th of 1490 public elementary schools	67.9%	77	71.4	59.8	77.6	71.8	61.4	47.6	51.3	52.6	84.2	$9,091	$979	$8,112

Frequently Asked Questions about South Newton Elementary

What is the racial makeup of South Newton Elementary?

Students at South Newton Elementary are 38% White, 34% Hispanic, 16% African American, 6% Two or more races, 5% Asian.

What district is South Newton Elementary in?

Newton Conover City Schools

What schools do graduates of South Newton Elementary attend?

Students who attend South Newton Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Newton-Conover Middle
High : Newton-Conover High

How many students attend South Newton Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 328 students attended South Newton Elementary.

Is South Newton Elementary a good school?

South Newton Elementary ranks 846^th of 1492 North Carolina elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Rate South Newton 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.