Best Elementary Schools in Kinston, NC

Summary:

The city of Kinston, North Carolina is home to 8 elementary schools, all part of the Lenoir County Public Schools district, except for Children's Village Academy, a public charter school. These schools serve students from pre-kindergarten through 5th grade and provide a range of educational experiences and outcomes.

Among the district schools, Moss Hill Elementary stands out as the highest-performing, ranking 341 out of 1,505 North Carolina elementary schools and earning a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger. Moss Hill significantly outperforms the district and state averages on math, reading, and science test scores, while also having the lowest percentage of free/reduced lunch recipients and the highest per-student spending in the district. In contrast, Northeast Elementary and Southeast Elementary struggle the most, with test scores well below the district and state averages.

The public charter school, Children's Village Academy, also stands out, outperforming the district and state on 8th-grade math and science tests, despite a lower statewide ranking. This suggests the potential benefits or drawbacks of the charter school model compared to the traditional public schools in the district. Additionally, the wide range in per-student spending, from $8,808 to $12,465, may be a contributing factor to the academic disparities observed across the schools.

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2024)				Ranking (2023)				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	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
Children's Village Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	701 North Adkin Street	Kinston	28501	Lenoir County	Children's Village Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(252) 939-1958	155	8	20.4	98.1%	4 (2.6%)	137 (88.4%)	5 (3.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (5.8%)	5.5	1479^th of 1505 public elementary schools	1.7%		11.2	1402^nd of 1502 public elementary schools	6.7%	77	27.3	14.3	10.0	5.6	21.1	43.8	36.4	35.7	20.0	16.7	21.1	25.0	25.0	87.5
Northwest Elementary	Public	K-5	1701 Old Well Rd	Kinston	28504	Lenoir County	Lenoir County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 527-5143	478	28	17.0	99.4%	43 (9.0%)	366 (76.6%)	30 (6.3%)	18 (3.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (4.4%)	46.6	807^th of 1505 public elementary schools	46.4%		29.4	1099^th of 1502 public elementary schools	26.8%	292	70.9	52.2	40.7				47.3	46.7	42.5				75.3		$8,808	$1,369	$7,440
Southeast Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	201 McDaniels Street	Kinston	28501	Lenoir County	Lenoir County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 527-4210	190	23	8.2	97.4%	3 (1.6%)	170 (89.5%)	11 (5.8%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (2.1%)	1.8	1501^st of 1505 public elementary schools	0.3%		5.1	1474^th of 1502 public elementary schools	1.9%	27	25.0	7.4	11.1				21.4		11.1				11.1		$12,465	$2,728	$9,737
Northeast Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1002 E Highland Ave	Kinston	28501	Lenoir County	Lenoir County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 527-4166	442	32	13.8	98.0%	8 (1.8%)	408 (92.3%)	17 (3.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.0%)	21.8	1252^nd of 1505 public elementary schools	16.8%		5.1	1475^th of 1502 public elementary schools	1.8%	223	32.1	37.1	26.3				35.8	27.4	35.1				73.7		$9,018	$1,456	$7,563
Southwood Elementary	Public	K-5	1245 Hwy 58 South	Kinston	28504	Lenoir County	Lenoir County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 527-9081	241	20	12.0	98.8%	159 (66.0%)	38 (15.8%)	27 (11.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (7.1%)	29.6	1108^th of 1505 public elementary schools	26.4%		29.8	1093^rd of 1502 public elementary schools	27.2%	15	59.5	45.2	39.1				43.2	51.6	37.0				39.1		$10,722	$2,082	$8,640
Banks Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2148 Falling Creek Rd	Kinston	28504	Lenoir County	Lenoir County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 527-9470	462	34	13.6	99.4%	199 (43.1%)	168 (36.4%)	68 (14.7%)	4 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	22 (4.8%)	45.2	830^th of 1505 public elementary schools	44.9%		41.2	911^th of 1502 public elementary schools	39.3%	81	61.6	54.9	54.5				50.7	48.8	33.0				64.8		$9,503	$1,056	$8,446
Contentnea-Savannah School	Public	PK, KG-8	3400 Ferrell Road	Kinston	28501	Lenoir County	Lenoir County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 527-8591	859	57	15.0	99.7%	258 (30.0%)	428 (49.8%)	134 (15.6%)	7 (0.8%)	3 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (3.4%)	33	1046^th of 1505 public elementary schools	30.5%		28.1	1122^nd of 1502 public elementary schools	25.3%	76	66.2	58.9	45.7	23.6	26.4	39.8	45.6	54.7	28.3	30.9	31.0	44.2	52.7	70.5	$9,328	$1,658	$7,670
Moss Hill Elementary	Public	K-5	6040 Hwy 55 West	Kinston	28504	Lenoir County	Lenoir County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 569-5071	389	29	13.4	99.2%	219 (56.3%)	74 (19.0%)	67 (17.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (7.5%)	74.1	341^st of 1505 public elementary schools	77.3%		64.9	498^th of 1502 public elementary schools	66.8%	157	84.4	77.0	58.8				71.9	70.5	44.1				73.5		$9,954	$1,536	$8,418

Cities Near Kinston

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
La Grange	6.6 mi	3	394^th
Deep Run	10.7 mi	1	428^th
Grifton	11.59 mi	1	425^th
Snow Hill	12.8 mi	6	376^th
Ayden	14.32 mi	3	320^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.