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Connections Academy

Q: Is Connections Academy a good school?

Connections Academy ranks in the bottom 1.8% of North Carolina middle schools.

Q: How many students attend Connections Academy?

In the 2024-25 school year, 8 students attended Connections Academy.

Q: What is the racial makeup of Connections Academy?

Students at Connections Academy are 38% White, 38% Hispanic, 25% African American.

Public Grades 6-8

759^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 773 North Carolina Middle Schools

Better than 2% of North Carolina middle schools

Summary

Connections Academy is a public middle school located in Cary, North Carolina, serving grades 6-8 with a total enrollment of 17 students. It is part of the Wake County Schools district, which is ranked 60 out of 242 school districts in North Carolina and has a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Connections Academy has consistently ranked in the bottom 10% of North Carolina middle schools over the past several years, with a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger, indicating very poor performance compared to other middle schools in the state. The school's proficiency rates in core subjects like mathematics, reading, and science are significantly lower than the state and district averages. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, the school's proficiency rates in 7th and 8th-grade mathematics and reading were around 5-15%, compared to the state averages of 51.9-54.2% and the Wake County Schools averages of 62.2-64%. The school's science proficiency rate for 8th grade in 2024-2025 was 30%, compared to the state average of 60.1% and the district average of 69.4%.

In contrast, nearby schools like Oberlin Middle, Salem Middle, and West Cary Middle have consistently high rankings and proficiency rates, ranking in the top 20-25% of North Carolina middle schools. The high percentage of students from low-income families at Connections Academy, along with the small school size and high student-teacher ratio, may be contributing factors to the school's poor academic performance.

Students ?

0.6

Student/teacher ratio ?

$38,998

Per pupil spending ?

82.4%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1280 Buck Jones Rd
Cary, NC 27606

(919) 694-8910

District: Wake County Schools

Racial breakdown:

White:

37.5%

Hispanic:

37.5%

African American:

25.0%

See top rated North Carolina middle schools

Compare Connections Academy to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 2nd percentile in 2019 → 2nd in 2025

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 1 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the North Carolina average (14% vs 54% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (2nd percentile)

!Mathematics scores 43 pts below the North Carolina average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school14%

District avg64%

North Carolina avg54%

759^th of 773

North Carolina public middle schools ?

Bottom 2%▬ steady since 2019

See the entire ranking list of North Carolina Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

37^th of 38Middle Schools in the Wake County Schools

60^th of 242Wake County 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
2025	2.6	759 of 773	1.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	2.4	780 of 793	1.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	1.3	777 of 784	0.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	1.3	784 of 786	0.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	1.5	725 of 737	1.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2023	6.4	557 of 559	0.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	4.6	549 of 550	0.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	3.3	512 of 519	1.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2019	1.1	491 of 493	0.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	5.0	718 of 729	1.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	4.3	734 of 743	1.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	2.6	628 of 639	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	1.7	728 of 733	0.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	1.9	747 of 751	0.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	2.0	741 of 747	0.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	1.4	747 of 748	0.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	1.2	691 of 697	0.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2024	25.5	398 of 473	15.9%	★☆☆☆☆

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 (2024)16th percentile+14 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)2nd percentile~ school

Male (2025)1st percentile~ school

Hispanic (2019)<1st percentile~ school

African American (2023)<1st percentile~ school

By subject vs North Carolina (2024-2025) ?

Science30%-30 vs state

Reading11%-43 vs state

Mathematics8%-43 vs state

★

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Schools Near Connections Academy

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				EOG Mathematics (2025)			EOG Reading (2025)			EOG Science (2025)	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	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	EOG Mathematics 6th Grade	EOG Mathematics 7th Grade	EOG Mathematics 8th Grade	EOG Reading 6th Grade	EOG Reading 7th Grade	EOG Reading 8th Grade	EOG Science 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Connections Academy	Public	6-8	1280 Buck Jones Rd	Cary	27606	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 694-8910	8	12	.6		3 (37.5%)	2 (25.0%)	3 (37.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2.6	759^th of 773 public middle schools	1.8%		2.4	780^th of 793 public middle schools	1.6%	21		5.3	11.1		5.3	15.8	30.0	$38,998	$1,698	$37,300
Dillard Drive Middle	Public	6-8	5200 Dillard Drive	Raleigh	27606	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 233-4228	977	66	14.7	50.5%	381 (39.0%)	241 (24.7%)	278 (28.5%)	45 (4.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	31 (3.2%)	46.6	423^rd of 773 public middle schools	45.3%		46.6	425^th of 793 public middle schools	46.4%	2	52.8	46.9	48.3	52.1	44.7	52.1	59.6	$8,594	$467	$8,126
East Cary Middle	Public	6-8	1111 SE Maynard Road	Cary	27511	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 466-4377	597	45	13.2	36.2%	318 (53.3%)	76 (12.7%)	144 (24.1%)	32 (5.4%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.2%)	24 (4.0%)	82.2	115^th of 773 public middle schools	85.1%		80.9	123^rd of 793 public middle schools	84.5%	8	69.4	67.8	61.5	68.8	69.3	70.2	80.5	$10,391	$516	$9,875
Centennial Campus Middle	Public, Magnet	6-8	1900 Main Campus Drive	Raleigh	27606	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	Yes	No	Yes	(919) 233-4217	477	37	12.9	99.4%	69 (14.5%)	231 (48.4%)	150 (31.4%)	14 (2.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (2.7%)	17.5	667^th of 773 public middle schools	13.7%		21.5	644^th of 793 public middle schools	18.8%	23	36.8	26.1	30.2	40.2	26.4	36.7	46.0	$11,386	$725	$10,660
Reedy Creek Middle	Public, Magnet	6-8	930 Reedy Creek Road	Cary	27513	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(919) 460-3504	805	54	14.9	37.1%	326 (40.5%)	159 (19.8%)	166 (20.6%)	126 (15.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	27 (3.4%)	69.5	211^th of 773 public middle schools	72.7%		76.7	155^th of 793 public middle schools	80.5%	56	68.1	57.9	57.8	65.4	56.2	61.5	67.6	$9,572	$485	$9,087
West Cary Middle	Public	6-8	1000 Evans Road	Cary	27513	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 460-3528	824	48	17.1	30.0%	258 (31.3%)	130 (15.8%)	142 (17.2%)	265 (32.2%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	26 (3.2%)	86.4	82^nd of 773 public middle schools	89.4%		89.2	69^th of 793 public middle schools	91.3%	13	73.1	72.9	80.1	66.8	69.6	71.0	79.1	$7,509	$324	$7,185
Martin Middle	Public, Magnet	6-8	1701 Ridge Rd	Raleigh	27607	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(919) 881-4970	1,011	61	16.6	29.6%	454 (44.9%)	174 (17.2%)	150 (14.8%)	205 (20.3%)	3 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (2.5%)	84.8	96^th of 773 public middle schools	87.6%		84.2	103^rd of 793 public middle schools	87.0%	7	80.5	73.2	60.5	76.6	72.5	67.6	74.5	$9,504	$524	$8,981
Oberlin Middle	Public, Magnet	6-8	2816 Oberlin Rd	Raleigh	27608	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(919) 881-4860	1,049	69	15.1	30.1%	594 (56.6%)	192 (18.3%)	185 (17.6%)	34 (3.2%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	42 (4.0%)	80.5	132^nd of 773 public middle schools	82.9%		80.4	129^th of 793 public middle schools	83.7%	3	75.4	66.1	59.3	69.5	65.3	68.9	75.6	$8,583	$379	$8,204
Lufkin Road Middle	Public	6-8	1002 Lufkin Road	Apex	27539	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 387-4465	1,035	62	16.8	33.5%	499 (48.2%)	117 (11.3%)	228 (22.0%)	159 (15.4%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.2%)	29 (2.8%)	70.2	200^th of 773 public middle schools	74.1%		80.9	125^th of 793 public middle schools	84.2%	75	66.2	60.5	55.2	65.5	63.8	59.2	66.2	$9,106	$406	$8,700
Salem Middle	Public	6-8	6150 Old Jenks Road	Apex	27523	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 363-1870	1,057	60	17.7	19.2%	545 (51.6%)	78 (7.4%)	159 (15.0%)	217 (20.5%)	4 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	53 (5.0%)	91.2	50^th of 773 public middle schools	93.5%		91.2	55^th of 793 public middle schools	93.1%	5	86.2	77.0	79.3	75.8	71.5	74.7	81.7	$9,372	$511	$8,861

Frequently Asked Questions about Connections Academy

What is the racial makeup of Connections Academy?

Students at Connections Academy are 38% White, 38% Hispanic, 25% African American.

Is Connections Academy a good school?

Connections Academy ranks in the bottom 1.8% of North Carolina middle schools.

How many students attend Connections Academy?

In the 2024-25 school year, 8 students attended Connections Academy.

What district is Connections Academy in?

Wake County Schools

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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.