Woods Creek Elementary

Woods Creek Elementary is a PK-5 school in Holly Springs, North Carolina, serving 406 students as part of Wake County Schools. The school earned a 5-star rating and ranked #138 out of 1,492 North Carolina elementary schools, placing it in the 91st percentile statewide. Students outperform the district and state in every reported EOG subject and grade. For example, 3rd-grade math proficiency is 85.9% versus 72.9% for the district and 66.4% statewide, while 3rd-grade reading proficiency is 78.8% compared with 65.4% for the district and 55.6% statewide.

Woods Creek sits in an unusually strong cluster of elementary schools. Within a few miles, Scotts Ridge Elementary and Apex Friendship Elementary rank in the top 25 statewide, and several other nearby schools land in the top 40, so the school's strong absolute results can look modest in context. Where Woods Creek stands out is in its resource profile: it is much smaller than its neighbors, with the lowest student-teacher ratio in the area at 12.3, and it serves a more economically diverse student body, with 24.6% of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch. Nearby schools range from roughly 5% to 13% on that measure, so Woods Creek's strong academic outcomes while serving more low-income families is notable.

The school's most encouraging results come with students who often face the most obstacles. Students from low-income families rank in the 94th percentile statewide, English learners in the 93rd, and special education students in the 91st, all signs that the school supports a wide range of learners well. Chronic absenteeism, at 13.6%, is well below the district average of 20.5% but is the highest among nearby schools, and reading proficiency tends to soften as students move from 3rd grade to 5th grade. Upper-elementary reading and science, along with outcomes for gifted students and Asian students, are the areas most worth monitoring. Overall, Woods Creek is a high-quality school by any statewide measure and an especially strong option for families who value strong results with a diverse student population.