Ashley Park Prek-8 School, Charlotte NC

Original Research by School Decision on Ashley Park Prek-8 School

Ashley Park PreK-8 serves a small enrollment spread across pre-kindergarten through eighth grade in southwest Charlotte. The school sits in a neighborhood with housing values somewhat below the county median and rental costs slightly below county average, in an area where homeownership carries significant affordability pressure relative to local incomes. Charlotte itself is a fast-growing mixed-use city with a strong downtown core and sprawling residential neighborhoods; growth is reshaping both the metro region and school infrastructure, as reflected in a recent major bond referendum.

Ashley Park's student body is predominantly Black and Hispanic, with nearly all students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The enrollment is genuinely small for its grade band, with only a handful of students in some early grades and larger cohorts in middle school. Pre-K through second grade are present but thin; testing does not apply to those grades, so no state assessment data exists for roughly a third of the school's population.

State assessment results for grades three through eight show proficiency well below county and state benchmarks. In math, less than half of tested students scored proficient. In English language arts, proficiency was substantially lower—roughly three in ten tested students met that standard. Science proficiency sat closer to math. These results indicate students are arriving at and progressing through elementary and middle school with significant gaps in core academic skills.

The school's demographic composition—particularly the concentration of students from low-income households—aligns it with many high-poverty schools across urban districts. Whether this reflects the immediate neighborhood, broader choice patterns within the district's magnet and program systems, or a combination is not clear from available data. The district itself is transitioning its choice model beginning in school year 2027-2028, moving from magnet themes to program-based pathways; how Ashley Park will fit into that reconfigured landscape is uncertain at this stage.

State testing data for the most recent year was available; no multi-year trend data was available, so it is not possible to say whether proficiency is stable, improving, or declining. No information on staffing, specialized programs, English learner services, special education enrollment, attendance, or school-level discipline was provided. A parent may want to look into further details directly with the school about curriculum approach, support services for struggling learners, and how the district's broader changes will shape Ashley Park's future.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grades 3-844%

School 44% · District 59% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

English language arts

Grades 3-830%

School 30% · District 53% · ▼ 23 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Science

Grades 3-844%

School 44% · District 62% · ▼ 18 pts below district

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

This schoolCharlotte-Mecklenburg 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-income18%Higher-income39%21 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income39%Higher-income27%12 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income31%Higher-income28%3 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income23%Higher-income61%38 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income46%Higher-income36%10 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income38%Higher-income58%20 pp gap