Blue Ridge School

Summary:

Blue Ridge School is an elementary school located in Cashiers, North Carolina, serving grades PK-6 with a student population of 165 and is part of the Jackson County Public Schools district.

Blue Ridge School has a diverse student population, with 61.21% White, 35.15% Hispanic, and smaller percentages of Native American and students of two or more races. The school's performance has fluctuated over the years, ranging from a 3-star rating in 2022-2023 to a 1-star rating in 2018-2019. While the school's Hispanic and low-income students perform relatively well compared to the state, the White students perform poorly. Blue Ridge School's test scores in mathematics, reading, and science are generally below the state and district averages, with the exception of a strong 5th-grade science proficiency rate of 72%. The school has seen a significant increase in the percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, from 46.75% in 2021-2022 to 79.39% in 2022-2023, indicating a growing population of students from low-income families.

Compared to nearby schools in the Jackson County Public Schools district, such as Scotts Creek School and Fairview School, Blue Ridge School's performance is generally lower. However, the school's focus on providing additional resources and support for students is evident in its higher spending per student compared to the state average. Addressing the school's areas of concern, such as the achievement gaps among racial subgroups and the declining performance in recent years, while building on its strengths, could help improve overall student outcomes and better serve the diverse community it serves.


Detail:

Public PK, KG-6

 95 Bobcat Drive
       Cashiers, NC  28717-9998


(828) 743-2646

District: Jackson County Public Schools

SchoolDigger Rank:
887th of 1,505 North Carolina Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $13,938 Help


Students who attend Blue Ridge School usually attend:

High:    Blue Ridge Early College
    Jackson County Early College

Student/teacher ratio:  14.5 Help
Number of students:  165

Racial breakdown:

White:
61.2%
Hispanic:
35.2%
Two or more races:
2.4%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  79.4% Help


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Performance Trends
Help
Compare Details Blue Ridge School ranks worse than 58.9% of elementary schools in North Carolina. It also ranks 2nd among 5 ranked elementary schools in the Jackson County Public Schools District. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 42.03. (See more...)
Student Body
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Compare Details Blue Ridge School has the smallest elementary school student body size in the Jackson County Public Schools District. Racial makeup is: White (61.2%), Hispanic (35.2%), two or more races (2.4%). (See more...)
Help
Compare Details 79.4% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. This is the highest percentage in the Jackson County Public Schools District. (See more...)
Teachers
Help
Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Blue Ridge School is 14.5. 3 elementary schools in the Jackson County Public Schools District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)
Help
Compare Blue Ridge School employs 11.3 full-time teachers.
Finance
Help
Compare Details The average total spent per student at Blue Ridge School is $13,938, which is the highest among 5 elementary schools in the Jackson County Public Schools District!
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Blue Ridge School:

SchoolDigger ranks Blue Ridge School 887th of 1505 North Carolina public elementary schools. (See Blue Ridge School in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Male students:
White students:


Jackson County Public Schools:

SchoolDigger ranks Jackson County Public Schools 171st of 242 North Carolina school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

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Rank History for Blue Ridge School

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Compare

Rank History for all students at Blue Ridge School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2006 50.25 713th 1276 44.1%
2007 40.94 882nd 1293 31.8%
2008 53.30 661st 1324 50.1%
2009 69.35 413th 1354 69.5%
2010 73.08 330th 1363 75.8%
2011 72.46 356th 1381 74.2%
2012 53.92 708th 1388 49.0%
2013 35.21 944th 1403 32.7%
2014 23.56 1108th 1390 20.3%
2015 19.86 1216th 1440 15.6%
2016 24.69 1150th 1425 19.3%
2017 44.26 849th 1429 40.6%
2018 46.88 803rd 1434 44.0%
2019 30.55 1089th 1473 26.1%
2021 37.98 898th 1489 39.7%
2022 38.57 944th 1514 37.6%
2023 63.45 526th 1502 65.0%
2024 42.03 887th 1505 41.1%
See the entire list of North Carolina Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Blue Ridge School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 50.68 657th 1332 50.7%
2019 21.42 1178th 1361 13.4%
2021 68.85 275th 1329 79.3%
2022 59.60 458th 1366 66.5%
2023 79.09 173rd 1437 88.0%
2024 63.53 429th 1450 70.4%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Blue Ridge School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 48.14 781st 1405 44.4%
2019 35.93 976th 1424 31.5%
2021 30.56 996th 1440 30.8%
2022 38.33 918th 1458 37.0%
2023 62.91 504th 1459 65.5%
2024 44.44 812th 1455 44.2%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Blue Ridge School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 47.63 797th 1413 43.6%
2019 32.12 1070th 1430 25.2%
2021 42.02 819th 1444 43.3%
2022 44.78 810th 1464 44.7%
2023 63.80 493rd 1461 66.3%
2024 48.20 779th 1464 46.8%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Blue Ridge School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 45.92 474th 851 44.3%
2023 77.30 128th 915 86.0%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina Elementary Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Blue Ridge School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 33.70 877th 1178 25.6%
2019 19.96 1065th 1183 10.0%
2021 24.09 960th 1172 18.1%
2022 21.11 1035th 1194 13.3%
2023 46.95 659th 1183 44.3%
2024 22.23 997th 1166 14.5%
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.

Blue Ridge School 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 Blue Ridge School

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Compare
Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1988 395 0 0 2 1 n/a n/a -5 393
1989 389 1 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 390
1990 364 0 1 0 3 n/a n/a 0 368
1991 361 1 0 9 4 n/a n/a 1 376
1992 379 0 0 6 2 n/a n/a 0 387
1993 377 0 0 4 1 n/a n/a 0 382
1994 381 0 0 7 1 n/a n/a 15 404
1995 394 2 0 7 0 n/a n/a 0 403
1996 394 2 0 7 0 n/a n/a 0 403
1997 386 0 0 12 0 n/a n/a 0 398
1998 321 0 0 11 2 n/a n/a 0 334
1999 314 2 0 3 0 n/a n/a 0 319
2000 291 0 0 4 0 n/a n/a 0 295
2001 267 1 0 7 0 n/a n/a 0 275
2002 249 2 0 23 1 n/a n/a 0 275
2003 249 2 0 23 1 n/a n/a 0 275
2004 248 3 0 28 1 n/a n/a 0 280
2005 247 2 1 27 0 n/a n/a 0 277
2006 249 2 1 38 1 n/a n/a 0 291
2007 238 0 4 51 1 n/a n/a 2 296
2008 231 1 3 54 2 n/a n/a 2 293
2009 137 2 2 43 2 n/a n/a 0 186
2010 133 2 2 38 2 n/a n/a 0 177
2011 130 0 1 49 1 0 1 0 182
2012 123 1 2 38 1 0 0 0 165
2013 131 1 2 38 3 0 1 0 176
2014 115 1 1 45 2 0 1 0 165
2015 125 2 0 56 2 0 1 0 186
2016 101 3 0 54 2 0 1 0 161
2017 118 0 0 54 3 0 4 0 179
2018 118 0 0 67 4 0 6 0 195
2019 116 0 0 63 3 0 7 0 189
2020 106 0 0 58 1 0 7 0 172
2021 98 0 0 54 2 0 4 0 158
2022 96 0 0 56 1 0 1 0 154
2023 101 0 0 58 2 0 4 0 165

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 Blue Ridge School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 393 19.0 20.6 13
1989 390 28.0 13.9 22.6
1990 368 28.0 13.1 27.2
1991 376 28.0 13.4 26.6
1992 387 31.0 12.4 12.7
1993 382 29.0 13.2 20.2
1994 404 31.0 13.0 21.6
1995 403 36.0 11.2 24.6
1996 403 36.0 11.2 24.6
1997 398 36.0 11.1 25.1
1998 334 33.0 10.1 28.7
1999 319 33.0 9.7 38.2
2000 295 33.0 8.9 36.6
2001 275 33.0 8.3 35.6
2002 275 30.0 9.2 41.5
2003 275 30.0 9.2 41.5
2004 280 30.0 9.3 42.5
2005 277 30.0 9.2 98.9
2006 291 30.0 9.7 53.3
2007 296 n/a n/a 46.3
2008 293 29.2 10.0 54
2009 186 14.1 13.2 67.7
2010 177 14.0 12.6 72.3
2011 182 14.9 12.2 78.6
2012 165 14.9 11.0 75.8
2013 176 16.5 10.6 79.5
2014 165 14.7 11.1 78.2
2015 186 15.0 12.4 83.3
2016 161 12.0 13.4 98.1
2017 179 12.7 14.0 97.2
2018 195 13.6 14.3 98.5
2019 189 15.1 12.4 98.4
2020 172 14.5 11.8 73.8
2021 158 14.5 10.8 52.5
2022 154 12.3 12.4 46.8
2023 165 11.3 14.5 79.4

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 Blue Ridge School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 393 19.0 20.6 13
1989 390 28.0 13.9 22.6
1990 368 28.0 13.1 27.2
1991 376 28.0 13.4 26.6
1992 387 31.0 12.4 12.7
1993 382 29.0 13.2 20.2
1994 404 31.0 13.0 21.6
1995 403 36.0 11.2 24.6
1996 403 36.0 11.2 24.6
1997 398 36.0 11.1 25.1
1998 334 33.0 10.1 28.7
1999 319 33.0 9.7 38.2
2000 295 33.0 8.9 36.6
2001 275 33.0 8.3 35.6
2002 275 30.0 9.2 41.5
2003 275 30.0 9.2 41.5
2004 280 30.0 9.3 42.5
2005 277 30.0 9.2 98.9
2006 291 30.0 9.7 53.3
2007 296 n/a n/a 46.3
2008 293 29.2 10.0 54
2009 186 14.1 13.2 67.7
2010 177 14.0 12.6 72.3
2011 182 14.9 12.2 78.6
2012 165 14.9 11.0 75.8
2013 176 16.5 10.6 79.5
2014 165 14.7 11.1 78.2
2015 186 15.0 12.4 83.3
2016 161 12.0 13.4 98.1
2017 179 12.7 14.0 97.2
2018 195 13.6 14.3 98.5
2019 189 15.1 12.4 98.4
2020 172 14.5 11.8 73.8
2021 158 14.5 10.8 52.5
2022 154 12.3 12.4 46.8
2023 165 11.3 14.5 79.4

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 Blue Ridge School

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YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $1,846 (13.2%) $12,092 (86.8%) $13,938

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

Impact of COVID-19 on Blue Ridge School

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 1089th of 1473 Elementary schoolsRanks 526th of 1502 Elementary schools
 38.9%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
3rd Grade Mathematics (Blue Ridge School)36.862.5
 25.7%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (Jackson County Public Schools)61.550.9
 10.6%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (North Carolina)64.361.1
 3.2%
3rd Grade Reading (Blue Ridge School)36.837.5
 0.7%
   3rd Grade Reading (Jackson County Public Schools)54.538.3
 16.2%
   3rd Grade Reading (North Carolina)56.848
 8.8%
4th Grade Mathematics (Blue Ridge School)46.473.9
 27.5%
   4th Grade Mathematics (Jackson County Public Schools)38.154.9
 16.8%
   4th Grade Mathematics (North Carolina)57.355.3
 2%
4th Grade Reading (Blue Ridge School)57.160.9
 3.8%
   4th Grade Reading (Jackson County Public Schools)51.250.2
 1%
   4th Grade Reading (North Carolina)57.355.3
 2%
5th Grade Mathematics (Blue Ridge School)29.264
 34.8%
   5th Grade Mathematics (Jackson County Public Schools)50.251.2
 1%
   5th Grade Mathematics (North Carolina)60.255.9
 4.3%
5th Grade Reading (Blue Ridge School)41.756
 14.3%
   5th Grade Reading (Jackson County Public Schools)48.141.7
 6.4%
   5th Grade Reading (North Carolina)54.648
 6.6%
5th Grade Science (Blue Ridge School)5072
 22%
   5th Grade Science (Jackson County Public Schools)65.458.3
 7.1%
   5th Grade Science (North Carolina)72.665.3
 7.3%
6th Grade Mathematics (Blue Ridge School)56.759.1
 2.4%
   6th Grade Mathematics (Jackson County Public Schools)57.153.9
 3.2%
   6th Grade Mathematics (North Carolina)58.852.3
 6.5%
6th Grade Reading (Blue Ridge School)63.345.5
 17.8%
   6th Grade Reading (Jackson County Public Schools)60.546.1
 14.4%
   6th Grade Reading (North Carolina)6049.3
 10.7%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students189165
 12.7%
African American00
American Indian32
 33.3%
Asian00
Hispanic6358
 7.9%
Pacific Islander00
White116101
 12.9%
Two or More Races74
 42.9%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients98.4%79.4%
 19%


Schools Near Blue Ridge School









Frequently Asked Questions about Blue Ridge School

In the 2022-23 school year, 165 students attended Blue Ridge School.

Students who attend Blue Ridge School usually go on to attend:

High : Blue Ridge Early College
High : Jackson County Early College

Blue Ridge School ranks 887th of 1505 North Carolina elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Students at Blue Ridge School are 61% White, 35% Hispanic, 2% Two or more races, 1% American Indian.


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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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