The top reported proficiency rate is 78% in Science. The lowest is 58% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Coopers Elementary
Coopers Elementary serves prekindergarten through fifth grade in Elm City, a small rural-suburban town in Nash County situated between Wilson and Rocky Mount. The school sits on a rural campus outside the town's historic core, about a fifteen-minute drive from downtown where civic anchors like the library and community center cluster.
The school enrolls a substantially higher proportion of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch than the state average, reflecting the economic context of the community. Enrollment is evenly distributed across the grade band, with prekindergarten through fifth grade all represented. The student body is majority white, with a meaningful Black population and smaller shares of Hispanic and multiracial students. State assessment data for English language learner status and students receiving special education services were not available in the school's reported metrics.
In state testing on the most recent End-of-Grade assessments, Coopers Elementary shows uneven results across subjects. Math proficiency sits at a solid level, positioning the school above the midpoint for mastery. Science proficiency is also strong. English language arts, however, lags measurably behind both other subjects at the school and the state average, which may warrant a parent's closer look with the school about instructional supports and any interventions in place. The school tested students in grades three through five for math and English language arts; science testing was drawn from a smaller group of students and included a change to the assessment instrument, so direct year-to-year comparison is not possible.
Nash County Public Schools underwent a significant structural change at the start of the 2024-25 school year, when it demerged from Edgecombe County. Several schools and substantial enrollment transferred out, attendance lines were redrawn, and the district's school board shrank. For Coopers Elementary families, this meant potential shifts in school assignments and district boundaries. More broadly, the district is in a growth phase. A major capital project is underway in southern Nash County following a substantial state grant awarded in 2024, with ground broken in 2026 for a new Southern Nash Middle School to address overcrowding and support the influx of families coming into the county from the Wake County and I-95 Wilson corridor regions. This signals the district is building for expansion.
A policy that went into effect district-wide in August 2025 requires all devices—phones, smartwatches, tablets, and earbuds—to be powered off and stored out of sight for elementary students from entry until dismissal. This is a meaningful change to how families can communicate with their children during the school day, and parents evaluating the school may want to understand how it affects their own family's routines.
The town itself has a compact footprint centered on a small historic downtown and is home to active new single-family construction on its outskirts. Population growth is modest but steady, and in early 2026 Elm City was awarded a community development grant for housing and public-space improvements. Most residents own their homes and commute out to jobs in Wilson and Rocky Mount. There is no public transit within the town. The area's housing market is below both state and national benchmarks, making it relatively affordable for families seeking small-town living with proximity to larger employment centers.
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