Central Elementary

Central Elementary is a K–5 school in Elizabeth City, NC, serving 484 students in the Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools district, where nearly every child qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. The school currently ranks at the 30th percentile statewide, a notable drop from its 49th-percentile showing a couple of years ago. Chronic absenteeism sits at 24.5% — better than the district average of 27.9% but higher than several nearby schools with similar poverty levels. Central’s student-teacher ratio has also climbed to 17.0, the highest among its district elementary peers, meaning fewer adults per classroom than comparable schools.

Reading proficiency is the clearest area of concern, especially in 3rd and 5th grades. On the latest state tests, just 42.5% of Central 3rd graders and 40.0% of 5th graders scored as proficient readers, compared with state averages near 55%. Math proficiency trails the state by roughly 7–10 points as well. The gap to Weeksville Elementary — an equally high-poverty school just 8 miles away — is striking. Weeksville ranks at the 81st percentile, and its proficiency rates are often nearly double Central’s in both reading and math. On a more positive note, Central’s 4th grade reading proficiency (53.9%) actually beat the district average, and 3rd grade math has been at or above the state average in some recent years, so success is possible in certain grades and subjects.

Looking at student subgroups, Central shows some genuine strengths. African American students ranked at the 57th percentile statewide compared with their peers, and special education students jumped from the 9th to the 56th percentile in just one year, though that swing could reflect small class sizes. Female students consistently outperform male students, and 4th grade reading has shown resilience. The biggest declines are among low-income students overall, who now rank at the 21st percentile after being near the 51st percentile two years ago, and White students, whose statewide subgroup ranking fell to the 11th percentile. Because Central serves almost exclusively low-income families, this is essentially a schoolwide concern. Still, the comparison with Weeksville — similar poverty, far better results — suggests that focused instruction, staffing, and attendance strategies could help Central recover toward the higher performance it achieved as recently as 2023–2024.