Best Public Schools in Clayton, NC

Summary:

The city of Clayton, North Carolina, is home to a diverse array of 14 schools, including 8 elementary schools, 3 middle schools, 2 high schools, and 1 alternative school. These schools serve students across various grade levels and socioeconomic backgrounds, with a mix of traditional public schools and public charter schools.

Among the standout schools in the area, Cleveland Elementary and Riverwood Elementary consistently rank among the top-performing elementary schools in North Carolina, earning 5-star ratings from SchoolDigger. These schools excel in math, reading, and science proficiency, often exceeding the state and district averages. Another high-performing elementary school is Powhatan Elementary, which ranks in the top 260 out of 1,505 North Carolina elementary schools and has a 4-star rating.

The public charter school, American Leadership Academy - Johnston, also stands out for its strong performance on state assessments, often surpassing the state averages in math, reading, and science proficiency across grade levels. This suggests that the strategies and practices employed by the charter school may be worth further investigation. Overall, the schools in Clayton exhibit a wide range of performance, with some schools significantly outperforming the state and district averages, while others struggle to meet proficiency standards. This highlights the need for targeted interventions and support to address the disparities and ensure equitable educational opportunities for all students in the Johnston County Public Schools district.

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2024)				Ranking (2023)				EOC Biology (2024)	EOC English II (2024)	EOC Math I (2024)	EOC Math III (2024)	EOG Mathematics (2024)						EOG Reading (2024)						EOG Science (2024)		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 (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	SchoolDigger Rating (2024)	Average Standard Score (2023)	Statewide Rank (2023)	State Percentile (2023)	Rank Change from Previous Year	EOC Biology End of Course	EOC English II End of Course	EOC Math I End of Course	EOC Math III End of Course	EOG Mathematics 3rd Grade	EOG Mathematics 4th Grade	EOG Mathematics 5th Grade	EOG Mathematics 6th Grade	EOG Mathematics 7th Grade	EOG Mathematics 8th Grade	EOG Reading 3rd Grade	EOG Reading 4th Grade	EOG Reading 5th Grade	EOG Reading 6th Grade	EOG Reading 7th Grade	EOG Reading 8th Grade	EOG Science 5th Grade	EOG Science 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Cooper Academy	Public	PK, KG-5	849 North Mial St	Clayton	27520	Johnston County	Johnston County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 553-0256	444	40	11.1	67.8%	116 (26.1%)	136 (30.6%)	155 (34.9%)	3 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	34 (7.7%)	49.1	760^th of 1505 public elementary schools	49.5%		55.4	662^nd of 1502 public elementary schools	55.9%	98					56.5	56.6	58.7				38.8	52.6	55.6				65.1		$10,146	$817	$9,330
Clayton High	Public	9-12	600 S Fayetteville St	Clayton	27520	Johnston County	Johnston County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 553-4064	2,024	110	18.3	42.0%	836 (41.3%)	531 (26.2%)	522 (25.8%)	18 (0.9%)	5 (0.2%)	1 (0.0%)	111 (5.5%)	44.3	339^th of 640 public high schools	47.0%		32.7	411^th of 626 public high schools	34.3%	72	68.8	55.0	44.1	45.9															$7,541	$374	$7,166
West Clayton Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1012 S Lombard St	Clayton	27520	Johnston County	Johnston County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 553-7113	761	50	15.3	64.9%	248 (32.6%)	156 (20.5%)	288 (37.8%)	8 (1.1%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	60 (7.9%)	43.6	862^nd of 1505 public elementary schools	42.7%		55.1	671^st of 1502 public elementary schools	55.3%	191					44.5	33.6	60.0				40.6	55.5	57.5				66.7		$9,685	$477	$9,208
Cleveland Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	10225 Cleveland Rd	Clayton	27520	Johnston County	Johnston County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 550-2700	822	48	17.1	29.6%	427 (51.9%)	134 (16.3%)	178 (21.7%)	12 (1.5%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	69 (8.4%)	89.4	122^nd of 1505 public elementary schools	91.9%		82.8	200^th of 1502 public elementary schools	86.7%	78					87.8	78.1	78.6				74.0	74.7	70.6				77.8		$8,300	$357	$7,943
Clayton Middle	Public	6-8	490 Guy Rd	Clayton	27520	Johnston County	Johnston County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 553-5811	573	36	15.9	57.8%	200 (34.9%)	149 (26.0%)	183 (31.9%)	7 (1.2%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	32 (5.6%)	54.6	341^st of 793 public middle schools	57.0%		56.5	319^th of 784 public middle schools	59.3%	22								45.3	47.2	42.5				49.0	54.4	56.5		78.0	$9,361	$587	$8,774
Johnston Charter Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	40 Scholar Drive	Clayton	27520	Johnston County	Johnston Charter Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(919) 879-8190	679	31	22.2	45.2%	331 (48.7%)	167 (24.6%)	108 (15.9%)	10 (1.5%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	60 (8.8%)	61.9	546^th of 1505 public elementary schools	63.7%		81.4	212^th of 1502 public elementary schools	85.9%	334					61.8	61.0	51.9	67.1	69.7	52.1	52.8	53.7	51.9	60.8	47.8	69.0	74.1	84.5
River Dell Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	12100 Buffalo Road	Clayton	27527	Johnston County	Johnston County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 553-1977	922	62	14.9	34.8%	494 (53.6%)	190 (20.6%)	152 (16.5%)	8 (0.9%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	76 (8.2%)	75.9	311^th of 1505 public elementary schools	79.3%		78.6	262^nd of 1502 public elementary schools	82.6%	49					72.1	62.9	80.5				55.4	56.7	63.6				87.7		$8,530	$614	$7,917
East Clayton Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2075 NC Highway 42 East	Clayton	27527	Johnston County	Johnston County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 550-5311	515	34	15.1	57.9%	164 (31.8%)	178 (34.6%)	125 (24.3%)	6 (1.2%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	39 (7.6%)	30.9	1083^rd of 1505 public elementary schools	28.0%		39.5	945^th of 1502 public elementary schools	37.1%	138					52.5	50.5	40.4				40.0	49.5	34.8				50.6		$9,338	$524	$8,814
Riverwood Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	108 Athletic Club Blvd	Clayton	27527	Johnston County	Johnston County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 359-6300	810	52	15.7	37.8%	447 (55.2%)	147 (18.1%)	146 (18.0%)	13 (1.6%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	55 (6.8%)	87	150^th of 1505 public elementary schools	90.0%		83.8	187^th of 1502 public elementary schools	87.5%	37					86.6	72.9	82.3				66.9	64.3	69.4				83.9		$8,213	$432	$7,780
Riverwood Middle	Public	6-8	204 Athletic Club Blvd	Clayton	27527	Johnston County	Johnston County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 359-2769	948	56	16.9	42.2%	444 (46.8%)	235 (24.8%)	194 (20.5%)	17 (1.8%)	5 (0.5%)	2 (0.2%)	51 (5.4%)	63.7	262^nd of 793 public middle schools	67.0%		53.8	349^th of 784 public middle schools	55.5%	87								61.8	51.1	45.8				54.0	56.6	62.8		72.6	$7,553	$421	$7,132
Powhatan Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	3145 Vinson Rd	Clayton	27527	Johnston County	Johnston County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 553-3259	616	42	14.6	34.3%	356 (57.8%)	114 (18.5%)	95 (15.4%)	5 (0.8%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	45 (7.3%)	78.9	260^th of 1505 public elementary schools	82.7%		79.4	248^th of 1502 public elementary schools	83.5%	12					80.2	64.8	67.4				70.3	72.1	59.8				72.8		$9,061	$544	$8,517
Cleveland High	Public	9-12	1892 Polenta Rd	Clayton	27520	Johnston County	Johnston County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 934-2455	1,879	99	18.9	35.0%	1,020 (54.3%)	330 (17.6%)	403 (21.4%)	26 (1.4%)	2 (0.1%)	4 (0.2%)	94 (5.0%)	49.7	300^th of 640 public high schools	53.1%		52.7	273^rd of 626 public high schools	56.4%	27	48.2	62.8	48.7	61.6															$7,646	$466	$7,180
Swift Creek Middle	Public	6-8	325 Norris Rd	Clayton	27520	Johnston County	Johnston County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 262-0750	750	46	16.3	46.3%	391 (52.1%)	126 (16.8%)	193 (25.7%)	4 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (4.8%)	62.7	269^th of 793 public middle schools	66.1%		54.3	341^st of 784 public middle schools	56.5%	72								57.5	59.0	54.3				50.2	47.1	59.1		75.4	$8,637	$480	$8,156
American Leadership Academy - Johnston	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-11	3770 US-70 Bus	Clayton	27520	Johnston County	American Leadership Academy - Johnston	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(984) 302-3630	1,740	0			984 (56.6%)	279 (16.0%)	346 (19.9%)	30 (1.7%)	23 (1.3%)	3 (0.2%)	75 (4.3%)								(n/a)	33.6	51.4	29.7	54.7	64.7	54.3	55.0	59.9	46.7	36.7	48.0	58.9	49.4	55.4	58.7	57.1	60.0	72.9

Cities Near Clayton

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Garner	6.07 mi	14	283^rd
Wilsons Mills	6.08 mi	1	310^th
Wendell	6.4 mi	12	336^th
Selma	6.97 mi	3	351^st
Raleigh	8.93 mi	107	197^th

See the top NC North Carolina cities

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.