William R Davie Middle S.t.e.m. Academy, Roanoke Rapids NC

Original Research by School Decision on William R Davie Middle S.t.e.m. Academy

William R Davie Middle S.T.E.M. Academy serves grades six through eight in Roanoke Rapids, a small, formerly industrial Halifax County city that has been rebuilding since textile mill closures. The school's enrollment is modest and concentrated among economically disadvantaged students: nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the student body is predominantly Black, with significant representation of American Indian and Alaska Native students and smaller numbers of Hispanic, white, and multiracial students. The school is part of a district-wide initiative in which each campus has been built around a thematic academic identity, and this school's STEM designation shapes its curricular approach.

Academic proficiency at William R Davie is substantially below state expectations across all tested subjects. In math, a small portion of students tested achieved proficiency. In English language arts, roughly a quarter of students demonstrated proficiency. Science results were higher at just under two in five, though it is worth noting that science testing underwent assessment design changes, making year-to-year comparison difficult. When proficiency rates across these three subjects are averaged, the school sits in the bottom quartile relative to other districts in Halifax County. Parents may want to look into this further with the school to understand the specific challenges students face and what intervention or support pathways exist.

The school serves a population experiencing significant economic hardship. Halifax County as a whole has a higher-than-average share of students in poverty, and William R Davie reflects this reality. The area's major employers—WestRock's paper mill, ECU Health North Hospital, Dominion Energy's hydroelectric operation, and retailers clustered near Interstate 95—have not fully offset the jobs lost when the historic textile mills closed. Housing costs in the zip code are modest, with monthly rents below the national median and home values well below state benchmarks. The city itself is undergoing a rebuild, with a downtown Main Street revitalization under way and new residential subdivisions offering homes at lower price points than surrounding markets.

The district recently received state funding for a new consolidated elementary school in western Halifax County and has lost a long-standing legal claim for additional state funding after the Leandro case was dismissed in 2025. That ruling eliminates what local leaders viewed as the primary pathway to billions in additional resources. For families in Roanoke Rapids, the implication is that school staffing and program breadth may remain constrained relative to more affluent districts, even as the STEM focus signals an effort to attract families through thematic curriculum differentiation.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grades 3-815%

School 15% · District 31% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 40 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

English language arts

Grades 3-825%

School 25% · District 30% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Science

Grades 3-839%

School 39% · District 35% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 22 pts below state median · even with county median

This schoolHalifax County Schools, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 6Lower-income27%Higher-income30%3 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income18%Higher-income32%14 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income22%Higher-income35%13 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income22%Higher-income32%10 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income23%Higher-income30%7 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income6%Higher-income27%21 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income6%Higher-income18%11 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income12%Higher-income25%14 pp gap