Ward Elementary

Summary:

Ward Elementary is a public elementary school located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, serving grades PK-5 with a student population of 532. The school is part of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools district, which is ranked 164 out of 242 districts in North Carolina and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Ward Elementary has a diverse student population, with a higher percentage of African American (35.15%) and Hispanic (27.26%) students compared to the district and state averages. However, the school consistently ranks in the bottom quartile of North Carolina elementary schools, with a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger for the past several years. Ward Elementary's proficiency rates in mathematics, reading, and science are significantly lower than the district and state averages, and the school has an extremely high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, reaching nearly 100% in the 2022-2023 school year. Additionally, Ward Elementary has a relatively high student-teacher ratio, ranging from 14.9 to 16.3 over the past few years, which is higher than the ratios of many nearby schools like Southwest Elementary, Frank Morgan Elementary, and Clemmons Elementary, which have significantly higher academic proficiency rates and overall SchoolDigger rankings.

Interestingly, some nearby schools outside the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools district, such as Friedberg Elementary in the Davidson County Schools district, outperform Ward Elementary academically despite serving a similar demographic of students. This suggests that the challenges faced by Ward Elementary may not be solely due to a lack of funding, as the school's spending per student ($9,790 in 2018-2019) is on par with the district average. The analysis of Ward Elementary's data reveals the need for targeted interventions and support to address the school's consistently low academic performance, high rates of economic disadvantage, and achievement gaps among subgroups.


Detail:

Public PK, KG-5

 3775 Fraternity Church Road
       Winston Salem, NC  27127


(336) 703-4235

District: Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools

SchoolDigger Rank:
1299th of 1,505 North Carolina Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $9,790 Help


Students who attend Ward Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    Clemmons Middle School
High:    Early College of Forsyth County
    Middle College of Forsyth County

Student/teacher ratio:  13.9 Help
Number of students:  482

Racial breakdown:

African American:
36.5%
Hispanic:
32.2%
White:
19.1%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  99.4% Help


 See top rated North Carolina elementary schools

 Compare Ward Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends
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Compare Details Ward Elementary ranks worse than 86.3% of elementary schools in North Carolina. It also ranks 31st among 42 ranked elementary schools in the Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools District. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 19.21. (See more...)
Student Body
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Compare Details Student population at Ward Elementary is diverse. Racial makeup is: African American (36.5%), Hispanic (32.2%), White (19.1%). (See more...)
Help
Compare Details 99.4% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)
Teachers
Help
Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Ward Elementary is 13.9. 24 elementary schools in the Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)
Help
Compare Ward Elementary employs 34.5 full-time teachers.
Finance
Help
Compare Details The average total spent per student at Ward Elementary is $9,790. 29 elementary schools in the Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools District spend more per student.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Ward Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Ward Elementary 1299th of 1505 North Carolina public elementary schools. (See Ward Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


English Language Learner students:
Special Education students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Male students:
African American students:
Hispanic students:
White students:


Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools:

SchoolDigger ranks Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools 164th of 242 North Carolina school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for Ward Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Ward Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2006 56.98 584th 1276 54.2%
2007 61.73 517th 1293 60.0%
2008 50.63 700th 1324 47.1%
2009 57.98 652nd 1354 51.8%
2010 44.42 858th 1363 37.1%
2011 36.74 966th 1381 30.1%
2012 35.18 1009th 1388 27.3%
2013 31.81 1006th 1403 28.3%
2014 51.24 687th 1390 50.6%
2015 33.83 1023rd 1440 29.0%
2016 29.79 1077th 1425 24.4%
2017 30.67 1069th 1429 25.2%
2018 21.62 1192nd 1434 16.9%
2019 24.35 1198th 1473 18.7%
2021 16.01 1294th 1489 13.1%
2022 17.31 1330th 1514 12.2%
2023 31.07 1073rd 1502 28.6%
2024 19.21 1299th 1505 13.7%
See the entire list of North Carolina Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Ward Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 43.71 86th 154 44.2%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina Elementary Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Ward Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 32.77 311th 421 26.1%
2019 40.78 285th 497 42.7%
2022 41.40 268th 485 44.7%
2023 44.53 257th 514 50.0%
2024 54.62 180th 533 66.2%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina Elementary Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Ward Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2024 28.15 633rd 801 21.0%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina Elementary Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Ward Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 28.09 1053rd 1332 20.9%
2019 31.60 1026th 1361 24.6%
2021 21.56 1116th 1329 16.0%
2022 25.23 1138th 1366 16.7%
2023 43.74 833rd 1437 42.0%
2024 27.64 1174th 1450 19.0%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Ward Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 22.20 1184th 1405 15.7%
2019 26.75 1135th 1424 20.3%
2021 15.57 1275th 1440 11.5%
2022 16.21 1320th 1458 9.5%
2023 30.86 1070th 1459 26.7%
2024 22.18 1219th 1455 16.2%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Ward Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 21.89 795th 897 11.4%
2019 17.70 825th 878 6.0%
2021 16.18 633rd 646 2.0%
2022 49.72 252nd 634 60.3%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina Elementary Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Gifted and Talented students at Ward Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 0.00 612th 612 0.0%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina Elementary Schools for Gifted and Talented Students!

Rank History for Male students at Ward Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 23.74 1166th 1413 17.5%
2019 24.25 1178th 1430 17.6%
2021 18.18 1211th 1444 16.1%
2022 20.97 1212th 1464 17.2%
2023 32.65 1041st 1461 28.7%
2024 18.30 1280th 1464 12.6%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for African American students at Ward Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 38.10 598th 927 35.5%
2019 35.19 661st 949 30.3%
2021 27.25 690th 896 23.0%
2022 32.97 658th 927 29.0%
2023 49.49 437th 933 53.2%
2024 30.68 702nd 924 24.0%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina Elementary Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Ward Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 28.96 686th 851 19.4%
2019 46.33 473rd 865 45.3%
2021 33.27 592nd 843 29.8%
2022 29.17 709th 893 20.6%
2023 39.19 581st 915 36.5%
2024 36.29 653rd 951 31.3%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina Elementary Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Ward Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 18.01 1084th 1178 8.0%
2019 14.99 1099th 1183 7.1%
2021 6.08 1162nd 1172 0.9%
2022 8.94 1160th 1194 2.8%
2023 21.81 1019th 1183 13.9%
2024 19.25 1031st 1166 11.6%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina Elementary Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Ward Elementary Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 





Data source: North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 5)
100%

0%

0%

0%

0%

  

Reviews:
No reviews have been submitted!


Enrollment information for Ward Elementary

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Compare
Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
2001 358 157 4 55 4 n/a n/a 0 578
2002 467 211 9 114 3 n/a n/a 0 804
2003 467 211 9 114 3 n/a n/a 0 804
2004 456 229 14 135 1 n/a n/a 0 835
2005 475 237 14 116 0 n/a n/a 0 842
2006 474 246 12 121 3 n/a n/a 0 856
2007 482 226 22 120 0 n/a n/a 46 896
2008 469 250 26 152 n/a n/a n/a 53 950
2009 464 318 32 143 1 n/a n/a 0 958
2010 302 279 31 152 2 n/a n/a 0 766
2011 283 230 35 151 1 0 42 0 742
2012 264 231 33 155 1 0 39 0 723
2013 254 234 35 166 0 0 34 0 723
2014 220 223 35 166 1 0 33 0 678
2015 220 223 35 168 1 0 29 0 676
2016 229 264 42 183 0 0 34 0 752
2017 207 250 38 202 0 1 38 0 736
2018 165 264 39 205 0 1 36 0 710
2019 160 276 33 226 0 0 40 0 735
2020 146 256 30 214 1 1 33 0 681
2021 139 239 25 177 0 1 32 0 613
2022 118 206 25 154 1 1 36 0 541
2023 131 187 25 145 0 0 44 0 532
2024 92 176 21 155 0 1 37 0 482

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Ward Elementary

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
2001 578 27.0 21.4 n/a
2002 804 28.0 28.7 32.8
2003 804 28.0 28.7 32.8
2004 835 28.0 29.8 33.7
2005 842 28.0 30.1 37.2
2006 856 28.0 30.6 38.3
2007 896 n/a n/a 40
2008 950 55.9 17.0 44.4
2009 958 59.8 16.0 41.3
2010 766 48.5 15.7 52.3
2011 742 51.8 14.3 56.3
2012 723 48.4 14.9 59.9
2013 723 48.2 14.9 65.6
2014 678 48.9 13.8 66.4
2015 676 47.0 14.3 65.7
2016 752 50.0 15.0 67.4
2017 736 49.5 14.8 71.2
2018 710 50.2 14.1 67.6
2019 735 50.3 14.6 65.4
2020 681 46.1 14.7 62.3
2021 613 37.4 16.3 55.6
2022 541 36.0 14.9 56.4
2023 532 35.0 15.2 99.4
2024 482 34.5 13.9 99.4

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Ward Elementary

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
2001 578 27.0 21.4 n/a
2002 804 28.0 28.7 32.8
2003 804 28.0 28.7 32.8
2004 835 28.0 29.8 33.7
2005 842 28.0 30.1 37.2
2006 856 28.0 30.6 38.3
2007 896 n/a n/a 40
2008 950 55.9 17.0 44.4
2009 958 59.8 16.0 41.3
2010 766 48.5 15.7 52.3
2011 742 51.8 14.3 56.3
2012 723 48.4 14.9 59.9
2013 723 48.2 14.9 65.6
2014 678 48.9 13.8 66.4
2015 676 47.0 14.3 65.7
2016 752 50.0 15.0 67.4
2017 736 49.5 14.8 71.2
2018 710 50.2 14.1 67.6
2019 735 50.3 14.6 65.4
2020 681 46.1 14.7 62.3
2021 613 37.4 16.3 55.6
2022 541 36.0 14.9 56.4
2023 532 35.0 15.2 99.4
2024 482 34.5 13.9 99.4

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.
Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for Ward Elementary

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YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $1,152 (11.8%) $8,638 (88.2%) $9,790

Data source: North Carolina Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Ward Elementary

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Rank
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Ranks 1198th of 1473 Elementary schoolsRanks 1073rd of 1502 Elementary schools
 9.9%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
3rd Grade Mathematics (Ward Elementary)45.154.9
 9.8%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools)59.258.8
 0.4%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (North Carolina)64.361.1
 3.2%
3rd Grade Reading (Ward Elementary)42.933
 9.9%
   3rd Grade Reading (Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools)51.745.1
 6.6%
   3rd Grade Reading (North Carolina)56.848
 8.8%
4th Grade Mathematics (Ward Elementary)46.734.3
 12.4%
   4th Grade Mathematics (Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools)53.852.3
 1.5%
   4th Grade Mathematics (North Carolina)57.355.3
 2%
4th Grade Reading (Ward Elementary)56.736.1
 20.6%
   4th Grade Reading (Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools)56.452.2
 4.2%
   4th Grade Reading (North Carolina)57.355.3
 2%
5th Grade Mathematics (Ward Elementary)38.746.3
 7.6%
   5th Grade Mathematics (Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools)56.751.4
 5.3%
   5th Grade Mathematics (North Carolina)60.255.9
 4.3%
5th Grade Reading (Ward Elementary)35.339.6
 4.3%
   5th Grade Reading (Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools)52.743.2
 9.5%
   5th Grade Reading (North Carolina)54.648
 6.6%
5th Grade Science (Ward Elementary)62.767.7
 5%
   5th Grade Science (Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools)69.861.4
 8.4%
   5th Grade Science (North Carolina)72.665.3
 7.3%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students735532
 27.6%
African American276187
 32.2%
American Indian00
Asian3325
 24.2%
Hispanic226145
 35.8%
Pacific Islander00
White160131
 18.1%
Two or More Races4044
 10%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients65.4%99.4%
 34%


Schools Near Ward Elementary









Frequently Asked Questions about Ward Elementary

Students at Ward Elementary are 37% African American, 32% Hispanic, 19% White, 8% Two or more races, 4% Asian.

In the 2023-24 school year, 482 students attended Ward Elementary.

Ward Elementary ranks in the bottom 13.7% of North Carolina elementary 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.





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