Miseducation | Polk County Schools | ProPublica

This database was last updated in October 2018, and its latest data is from the 2015-16 school year. Researchers can find more recent data at the U.S. Department of Education’s Civil Rights Data Collection site.

Miseducation » North Carolina

Polk County Schools

PO Box 638, Columbus, NC 28722

2,334 Students | 214 Teachers | 7 Schools

Compare This District to Other Districts

nearby

with higher/lower poverty rates

with more/fewer nonwhite students

District Composition
The Racial Divide

ProPublica has found that in school districts across the country, Black and Hispanic students are, on average, less likely to be selected for gifted programs and take AP courses than their white peers. They are also more likely, on average, to be suspended and expelled. Another measure of disparities is how segregated schools are in a district. Explore if disparities exist at this school across all racial groups. The first scores shown below are for racial groups with the highest disparities.

Opportunity

 

No Hispanic students are enrolled at least one AP class, so we cannot calculate a comparison with White students

A comparison between Black students and White students enrolled at least one AP class is not available.

A comparison between Asian, Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian students and White students enrolled at least one AP class is not available.

A comparison between students of Two or More Races and White students enrolled at least one AP class is not available.

A comparison between Native American or Alaska Native students and White students enrolled at least one AP class is not available.

Discipline

2.6x 

Black students are 2.6 times as likely to be suspended as White students.

A comparison between Hispanic students and White student suspensions is not available.

A comparison between Asian, Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian students and White student suspensions is not available.

students of Two or More Races are 2.2 times as likely to be suspended as White students.

A comparison between Native American or Alaska Native students and White student suspensions is not available.

Segregation Index

Low

Segregation between Black students students and White students is Low, indicating that the distribution of these two racial groups among schools in this district is relatively even.

Segregation between White students and Hispanic students is Medium, indicating that the distribution of these two racial groups among schools in this district isrelatively even.

Achievement Gap

1.1 grades

Hispanic students are, on average, academically 1.1 grades behind White students.

The achievement gap between Black students and White students is not available.

Show All Groups

Hide All Groups

Opportunity

School districts offer a variety of curricula and enrichment programs. Explore what advanced courses and specialized staff members are available for students in this district.


AP Course Composition

Gifted & Talented Composition

This District

State

Students

23% Nonwhite Students

81% Students Who Get Free/Reduced-Price Lunch

85% - 89% High School Graduation Rate

7% High School Students Taking at Least One AP Course

51 students

5% Students in a Gifted & Talented Program

127 students

21% Students Taking the SAT or ACT

153 students

2% Students Enrolled in Physics

15 students

16% Students Enrolled in Advanced Math

114 students

22% Students Enrolled in in Geometry

159 students

7% Students Enrolled in Biology

48 students

18% Students Enrolled in Chemistry

131 students

< 1% Students Enrolled in Calculus

7 students

2% Students Enrolled in 8th-Grade Algebra

55 students

Teachers & Resources

10.9 Students for Every Teacher

7% Inexperienced Teachers

14% Chronically Absent Teachers

(Missed more than 10 days in a 180-day school year)

9 Average Number of AP Courses per School

4.1 Social Workers, Psychologists & Counselors per 1000 students

1 School With Credit Recovery Programs

2 Schools With Dual Enrollment Programs

6 Schools With Gifted & Talented Programs

0 Schools With International Baccalaureates

This District

State

Discipline

School districts differ in how they discipline students. Explore how often this district punishes its students with suspensions, expulsions and corporal punishment.


Out-of-School Suspension Composition

This District

State

Students

92 Total Out-of-School Suspended Students

4% of all students in this district

102 Total In-School Suspended Students

4% of all students in this district

0 Total Expelled Students

Outcomes & Resources

45 Average Days Missed to Out-of-School Suspension, per School

3.9Average Number of Days of an Out-of-School Suspension

0 Total Arrests

2 Total Referrals to Law Enforcement

0 Average Transfers to Alternative Schools, per School

1.7 Security Guard or Law Enforcement Officer per 1000 students

This District

State

Civil Rights Coordinators

Districts are required to designate specific employees to ensure schools are in compliance with federal civil rights laws. Here are the designated civil rights coordinators for this district.

Civil Rights: All Forms of Discrimination
  • David Scherping
  • (828) 894-3051
  • Email
All Schools

Explore the disparities in discipline and academic opportunities across all schools in this district.

BlackBlack

HispanicHispanic

AsianAsian, Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian

Native Am.Native American or Alaska Native

Two+ RacesTwo or More Races

School Name City Nonwhite Students Students Who Get Free/Reduced-Price Lunch High School Graduation Rate Opportunity (White students are this number of times as likely to be in an AP class, compared with Black students) Discipline (Black students are this number of times as likely to be suspended, compared with White students)
Polk Central Elementary School Mill Spring 31% 99%

Not Available

Not available

Over 20x
Polk County Early College Columbus 13% 38% Greater than 50%

Not available

Not available

Polk County High School Columbus 19% 42% Between 85% and 89%

Not available

3x
Polk County Middle School Mill Spring 23% 99%

Not Available

Not available

Not available

Saluda Elementary School Saluda 6% 98%

Not Available

Not available

Not available

Sunny View Elementary School Mill Spring 14% 98%

Not Available

Not available

Not available

Tryon Elementary School Tryon 32% 99%

Not Available

Not available

Not available

School Name City Nonwhite Students Students Who Get Free/Reduced-Price Lunch High School Graduation Rate Opportunity (White students are this number of times as likely to be in an AP class, compared with Hispanic students) Discipline (Hispanic students are this number of times as likely to be suspended, compared with White students)
Polk Central Elementary School Mill Spring 31% 99%

Not Available

Not available

Not available

Polk County Early College Columbus 13% 38% Greater than 50%

Not available

Not available

Polk County High School Columbus 19% 42% Between 85% and 89%

Not available

2.5x
Polk County Middle School Mill Spring 23% 99%

Not Available

Not available

Not available

Saluda Elementary School Saluda 6% 98%

Not Available

Not available

Not available

Sunny View Elementary School Mill Spring 14% 98%

Not Available

Not available

Not available

Tryon Elementary School Tryon 32% 99%

Not Available

Not available

Not available

School Name City Nonwhite Students Students Who Get Free/Reduced-Price Lunch High School Graduation Rate Opportunity (White students are this number of times as likely to be in an AP class, compared with Asian, Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian students) Discipline (Asian, Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian students are this number of times as likely to be suspended, compared with White students)
Polk Central Elementary School Mill Spring 31% 99%

Not Available

Not available

Not available

Polk County Early College Columbus 13% 38% Greater than 50%

Not available

Not available

Polk County High School Columbus 19% 42% Between 85% and 89%

Not available

Not available

Polk County Middle School Mill Spring 23% 99%

Not Available

Not available

Not available

Saluda Elementary School Saluda 6% 98%

Not Available

Not available

Not available

Sunny View Elementary School Mill Spring 14% 98%

Not Available

Not available

Not available

Tryon Elementary School Tryon 32% 99%

Not Available

Not available

Not available

School Name City Nonwhite Students Students Who Get Free/Reduced-Price Lunch High School Graduation Rate Opportunity (White students are this number of times as likely to be in an AP class, compared with Native American or Alaska Native students) Discipline (Native American or Alaska Native students are this number of times as likely to be suspended, compared with White students)
Polk Central Elementary School Mill Spring 31% 99%

Not Available

Not available

Not available

Polk County Early College Columbus 13% 38% Greater than 50%

Not available

Not available

Polk County High School Columbus 19% 42% Between 85% and 89%

Not available

Not available

Polk County Middle School Mill Spring 23% 99%

Not Available

Not available

Not available

Saluda Elementary School Saluda 6% 98%

Not Available

Not available

Not available

Sunny View Elementary School Mill Spring 14% 98%

Not Available

Not available

Not available

Tryon Elementary School Tryon 32% 99%

Not Available

Not available

Not available

School Name City Nonwhite Students Students Who Get Free/Reduced-Price Lunch High School Graduation Rate Opportunity (White students are this number of times as likely to be in an AP class, compared with Two or More Races students) Discipline (Two or More Races students are this number of times as likely to be suspended, compared with White students)
Polk Central Elementary School Mill Spring 31% 99%

Not Available

Not available

10x
Polk County Early College Columbus 13% 38% Greater than 50%

Not available

Not available

Polk County High School Columbus 19% 42% Between 85% and 89%

Not available

Not available

Polk County Middle School Mill Spring 23% 99%

Not Available

Not available

Not available

Saluda Elementary School Saluda 6% 98%

Not Available

Not available

Not available

Sunny View Elementary School Mill Spring 14% 98%

Not Available

Not available

Not available

Tryon Elementary School Tryon 32% 99%

Not Available

Not available

12x
Sources & Notes

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, Stanford University's Center for Education Policy Analysis, EDFacts, U.S. Department of Education’s Common Core of Data. Maps courtesy of Mapbox Community. Read our methodology

Notes: The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights occasionally updates the underlying dataset. ProPublica may update the interactive’s data in response.

Disparity scores are not available if there are too few students in a specific racial group to make a statistically significant calculation. They are also not available if data about a particular racial group was not reported. Some schools or districts reported an overcount of students in a disparity category (such as suspensions or AP courses) when compared with the total enrollment of that particular student group. In such cases, we also omit the disparity score.

Due to rounding, demographic breakdowns in composition charts may add up to more than 100 percent.

The racial categories we show data for are: Black, Hispanic, White, Asian/Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian, Two or More Races, and Native American or Alaska Native. In some cases, we abbreviate the last three of these racial groups to Asian, Two+ Races, and Native Am.

Due to a technical issue with the Office for Civil Rights’ collection of data on sworn law enforcement officers in schools, the data for security staff may be an undercount.

As with any self-reported data, there may be errors in the federal Civil Rights Data Collection. Though districts are required to ensure the accuracy of their data, some may still report incorrect figures. Additionally, for some variables, the CRDC rounds the number of students for privacy reasons. In these cases, groups of students may represent a slight undercount or overcount.

Find errors? Have tips? Email [email protected].

Data specific to high school testing or high school level courses (including geometry, biology, calculus, AP enrollment, SAT testing rates, etc.) is calculated out of total high school enrollment, while data for other classes (such as eighth-grade algebra) is calculated out of total student enrollment. Read more about our data in our methodology

Close Comment Creative Commons Donate Email Facebook Mobile Phone Podcast Print RSS Search Search Twitter WhatsApp
Current site Current page