Mount Olive Middle

Mount Olive Middle serves 329 students in grades 5 through 8 in Mount Olive, North Carolina, a small town in the eastern part of the state, and is part of Wayne County Public Schools. In 2025–2026, the school earned a 1-star rating and ranked in the 25th percentile of North Carolina middle schools — a bottom-third position it has held for most of the past decade. Nearly every student comes from an economically disadvantaged household, a socioeconomic profile shared by most other middle schools in the immediate area.

Despite the low overall rating, Mount Olive Middle has genuine bright spots. Eighth-grade math has been a standout for three consecutive years: 60.2% of 8th graders were proficient in 2025–2026, above the state average of 53%, with similar results in prior years. The school also serves several of its highest-need students well. English Learner students ranked in the 69th percentile statewide in 2025–2026, Hispanic students in the 63rd, and special education students in the 60th. These pockets of success suggest the school has strategies that work for certain groups and grades — the challenge is scaling them schoolwide.

Reading is the school's biggest weakness. In every grade, reading proficiency trails the state average by roughly 16 to 23 points. Chronic absenteeism is another hurdle: 38.8% of students were chronically absent in 2024–2025, well above the state's 24.2% average. Compared with nearby schools, Mount Olive Middle sits at the lower end. Spring Creek Middle and Grantham Middle both ranked in the upper half of the state while serving similarly high-poverty student bodies, and Rosewood Middle landed in the 51st percentile. Mount Olive Middle finished ahead of only Brogden Middle and Dillard Middle in the local group. Because neighboring schools achieve stronger results with similar demographics, there is clear room for improvement — starting with literacy and attendance.