Tyrrell Elementary

Tyrrell Elementary is a very small, rural PK–6 school in Columbia, North Carolina, serving 196 students within Tyrrell County Schools. Nearly all of its students (98.5%) qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the school maintains small class sizes with a student-teacher ratio around 10:1.

Academically, the school is currently struggling. In the most recent school year, Tyrrell ranked in the 8th percentile statewide—a sharp drop from the 22nd percentile the year before and well below its strongest recent years in 2022–23 and 2023–24, when it hovered near the middle of statewide rankings. Proficiency rates fell below state averages in every tested subject and grade. For example, 4th grade reading proficiency was 24% versus 57.7% statewide, and 5th grade math was 28.6% versus 62.9% statewide. The gap is especially visible when compared with Pocosin Innovative Charter, a K–8 charter school about 8.6 miles away in Creswell. Pocosin currently ranks at the 59th percentile with three stars and outperformed Tyrrell in nearly every grade and subject in the latest year—3rd grade math, for instance, was 80% proficient at Pocosin versus 40% at Tyrrell.

There are some encouraging signs, however. Chronic absenteeism at Tyrrell has fallen steadily from 34.7% in 2020–21 to 23.4% in 2024–25—now slightly better than the state average. The school has also demonstrated in the past that it can achieve strong results despite its high-poverty context. In 2023–24, low-income students ranked at the 61st percentile statewide, 5th grade science reached 76% proficiency, and 4th grade reading hit 62.9%—both above state averages. That suggests the recent decline is not inevitable but rather points to a need for more consistent instructional effectiveness. With small classes and relatively high per-pupil spending already in place, the challenge ahead for Tyrrell is regaining the momentum it showed just a couple of years ago and sustaining it across all grade levels and student groups.