Best Elementary Schools in the Durham, NC Area

Are you looking for information on the top public elementary schools in the Durham area? Below you'll find rankings on some of the best Durham-area elementary schools including Glenwood Elementary School, Morris Grove Elementary School, Seawell Elementary School, and Ephesus Elementary School. We also have data to help you compare such top traditional public elementary schools to the area's best charter schools including Woods Charter School, The Expedition School, Orange Charter School, and Chatham Charter School.

The list below is not meant be used as a definitive guide to which Durham-area elementary school would be best for any individual child. For schools that are close to one another in rankings, differences in available data are in most cases very small.

Top Elementary Schools in the Durham Area

Rank	School Name	City	School Type	Grades Served
1	Woods Charter School	Chapel Hill, NC	Charter	K-12
2	Glenwood Elementary School	Chapel Hill, NC	Regular	K-5
3	Morris Grove Elementary School	Chapel Hill, NC	Regular	PK-5
4	The Expedition School	Hillsborough, NC	Charter	K-8
5	Seawell Elementary School	Chapel Hill, NC	Regular	PK-5
6	Ephesus Elementary School	Chapel Hill, NC	Regular	PK-5
7	Scroggs Elementary School	Chapel Hill, NC	Regular	PK-5
8	Mangum Elementary School	Bahama, NC	Regular	K-5
9	Voyager Academy	Durham, NC	Charter	K-12
10	Rashkis Elementary School	Chapel Hill, NC	Regular	PK-5
11	Helena Elementary School	Timberlake, NC	Regular	K-5
12	Orange Charter School	Hillsborough, NC	Charter	K-10
13	Perry W Harrison Elementary School	Pittsboro, NC	Regular	PK-5
14	Oak Lane Elementary School	Hurdle Mills, NC	Regular	K-5
15	Chatham Charter School	Siler City, NC	Charter	K-12
16	McDougle Elementary School	Chapel Hill, NC	Regular	PK-5
17	Carrboro Elementary School	Carrboro, NC	Regular	PK-5
18	Estes Hills Elementary School	Chapel Hill, NC	Regular	PK-5
19	Bennett School	Bennett, NC	Regular	PK-8
20	Morehead Montessori Magnet School	Durham, NC	Regular	PK-5
21	Pearsontown Elementary School	Durham, NC	Regular	PK-5
22	Hillsborough Elementary School	Hillsborough, NC	Regular	PK-5
23	Central Park School For Children	Durham, NC	Charter	K-8
24	Cameron Park Elementary School	Hillsborough, NC	Regular	PK-5
25	Pittsboro Elementary School	Pittsboro, NC	Regular	PK-4
26	FPG Elementary School	Chapel Hill, NC	Regular	PK-5
27	Woodland Elementary School	Semora, NC	Regular	K-5
28	Stories Creek Elementary School	Roxboro, NC	Regular	K-5
29	J S Waters School	Goldston, NC	Regular	K-8
30	Easley Elementary School	Durham, NC	Regular	K-5
31	Bethel Hill Charter School	Roxboro, NC	Charter	K-5
32	Forest View Elementary School	Durham, NC	Regular	K-5
33	Creekside Elementary School	Durham, NC	Regular	K-5
34	Silk Hope School	Siler City, NC	Regular	K-8
35	George Watts Elementary School	Durham, NC	Regular	PK-5
36	Northside Elementary School	Chapel Hill, NC	Regular	PK-5
37	Willow Oak Montessori School	Chapel Hill, NC	Charter	1-6
38	North Chatham Elementary School	Chapel Hill, NC	Regular	PK-5
39	Horton Middle School	Pittsboro, NC	Regular	5-8
40	Grady Brown Elementary School	Hillsborough, NC	Regular	PK-5
41	Pathways Elementary School	Hillsborough, NC	Regular	PK-5
42	Little River Elementary School	Durham, NC	Regular	PK-7
43	Kestrel Heights School	Durham, NC	Charter	K-12
44	Maureen Joy Charter School	Durham, NC	Charter	K-8
45	Moncure School	Moncure, NC	Regular	PK-8
46	Efland Cheeks Elementary School	Efland, NC	Regular	PK-5
47	Bonlee School	Bear Creek, NC	Regular	K-8
48	North End Elementary School	Roxboro, NC	Regular	K-5
49	Hillandale Elementary School	Durham, NC	Regular	PK-5
50	E K Powe Elementary School	Durham, NC	Regular	PK-5
51	Central Elementary School	Hillsborough, NC	Regular	PK-5
52	Southwest Elementary School	Durham, NC	Regular	PK-5
53	New Hope Elementary School	Chapel Hill, NC	Regular	PK-5
54	Siler City Elementary School	Siler City, NC	Regular	PK-5
55	R N Harris Elementary School	Durham, NC	Regular	PK-5
56	Global Scholars Academy	Durham, NC	Charter	K-8
57	Burton Elementary School	Durham, NC	Regular	PK-5
58	Spring Valley Elementary School	Durham, NC	Regular	PK-5
59	Parkwood Elementary School	Durham, NC	Regular	PK-5
60	Club Boulevard Elementary School	Durham, NC	Regular	K-5
61	Sandy Ridge Elementary School	Durham, NC	Regular	PK-5
62	Oak Grove Elementary School	Durham, NC	Regular	PK-5
63	Research Triangle Charter School	Durham, NC	Charter	K-8
64	Holt Elementary School	Durham, NC	Regular	PK-5
65	Hope Valley Elementary School	Durham, NC	Regular	K-5
66	Virginia Cross Elementary School	Siler City, NC	Regular	PK-5
67	South Elementary School	Roxboro, NC	Regular	PK-5
68	Bethesda Elementary School	Durham, NC	Regular	PK-5
69	Reaching All Minds Academy	Durham, NC	Charter	K-5
70	North Elementary School	Roxboro, NC	Regular	K-5
71	Y E Smith Elementary School	Durham, NC	Regular	PK-5
72	The Institute for the Development Young Leaders	Durham, NC	Charter	K-8
73	Merrick-Moore Elementary School	Durham, NC	Regular	PK-5
74	Healthy Start Academy	Durham, NC	Charter	K-8
75	Carter Community Charter School	Durham, NC	Charter	K-8
76	Fayetteville Street Elementary School	Durham, NC	Regular	PK-5
77	Glenn Elementary School	Durham, NC	Regular	K-5
78	Lakewood Elementary School	Durham, NC	Regular	PK-5
79	W G Pearson Elementary School	Durham, NC	Regular	PK-5
80	Eno Valley Elementary School	Durham, NC	Regular	PK-5
81	Eastway Elementary School	Durham, NC	Regular	PK-5
82	C C Spaulding Elementary School	Durham, NC	Regular	PK-5

Rankings for the best elementary schools in the Durham area were created independently by Carolina School Hub. The test data for this site was derived from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and South Carolina Department of Education.

You can click on a specific school name above for more information on elementary school test scores, student data and more.

Choosing an Elementary School in the Durham Area

When comparing regular Durham-area elementary schools to charter and magnet schools, one should keep in mind the differences between charter schools, magnet schools and traditional public schools.

Magnet schools are in most cases alternative public schools that offer a specialized curriculum. At the highest level, North and South Carolina magnet schools and traditional elementary schools tend to be managed by the same entity - the county school superintendent's office. Magnet schools normally can accept students from anywhere in the county in which they are located, and often limit the acceptance pool through a lottery system.

Charter schools, on the other hand, are each independently managed. They tend to accept students not only from the county in which they're located, but surrounding counties as well. Like magnets, charters tend to use a lottery-based acceptance method.

Regular elementary schools are sometimes called "zoned schools," "neighborhood schools" or "zip code schools." This is because they accept students from a limited geographical area - such as a town or a specific set of subdivisions. Regular schools do not tend to use a lottery system. Regular elementary schools are the most common kinds of schools in North and South Carolina.

Which Elementary Schools are Covered in the Durham Area

We hope you find the ratings and other information on elementary schools in the Durham area to be useful. Elementary Schools on this page were drawn from the following counties:

• Durham County, NC
• Orange County, NC
• Chatham County, NC
• Person County, NC