The top reported proficiency rate is 59% in Math. The lowest is 42% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Diggs-latham Elementary
Diggs-Latham Elementary serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in Winston-Salem, a mid-sized North Carolina city that reversed decades of decline in the early 2000s and now combines a preserved downtown with research institutions, healthcare anchors, and adaptive reuse of historic industrial buildings. The school is located on Hutton Street in a neighborhood where it serves a student body that is almost entirely economically disadvantaged. Nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The enrollment is small to mid-sized for its grade band, drawing from a community that is roughly balanced between Hispanic and Black students, with smaller representation of white and multiracial students.
The school's most recent state test results show moderate to below-average proficiency. In math on the grades-3-5 state end-of-grade test, about three in five students tested reached proficiency. In English language arts, the proficiency rate drops to about two in five. Science proficiency, which was administered to a smaller group of students, sits between the two. These results position the school below midpoint performance expectations. Reading outcomes especially warrant attention from a parent considering the school or already enrolled; a parent may want to look into how the school is addressing early literacy and what support structures exist for students who enter below grade level.
The school sits within Winston-Salem / Forsyth County Schools, a large district serving the city and county. The district faced a significant capital project setback in 2022 when construction costs roughly doubled after a bond passage, forcing postponement of three major projects including a new middle school. A 2023 county funding injection preserved most remaining renovations. The district has also adopted a modified academic calendar with an earlier August start than state statute permits and a later May finish, a schedule change that affects family planning for childcare and summer programs. This calendar is locked in through the 2026-27 school year.
The neighborhood around Diggs-Latham reflects Winston-Salem's mix of older residential and commercial areas. Housing values in the immediate area are moderate relative to the county and state; rent is stable and affordable compared to regional benchmarks. The city itself is a major employment hub anchored by healthcare (Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist and Novant Health), higher education (Wake Forest University and Winston-Salem State University), and corporate headquarters including Krispy Kreme. Downtown has seen significant reinvestment through adaptive reuse of tobacco-era buildings into mixed-use, residential, and office space, though this growth has centered in the Innovation Quarter and downtown core. Outer residential neighborhoods, including those where Diggs-Latham sits, experience less visible development activity.
A parent considering Diggs-Latham should know that this is a fully public elementary school in an economically concentrated area where the school will serve students with substantial needs for academic support and intervention. The test data shows that many students arrive below grade-level expectations, especially in reading. The school's small to mid-sized enrollment and primary-grades mission mean there are no secondary grades or career pathways to consider. Strengths in early intervention, phonics, and foundational literacy support would be important questions to raise with the school leadership. The district's capital funding challenges may also mean that facility upgrades or expansions, if needed at this school, may proceed more slowly than originally planned.
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