The top reported proficiency rate is 58% in English language arts. The lowest is 52% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Silverdale Elementary
Silverdale Elementary is a public school serving kindergarten through fifth grade in Maysville, a small rural town in the New Bern metropolitan area. The school enrolls approximately 630 students across six grade levels, drawing from a community where about half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting a mixed-income student body. The student population is diverse: roughly half identify as white, with substantial shares of Hispanic, Black, and multiracial students, and smaller Asian and Native Hawaiian populations. English learner and special education enrollment data were not available.
On North Carolina's End-of-Grade tests in the school year just ending, Silverdale's results show proficiency levels that fall below the midpoint range. In English language arts, about half of the tested students in grades three through five scored at proficient level or above. Math proficiency was somewhat lower, with about half meeting that threshold. Science proficiency, tested only in a smaller subset of students, was comparable to math. These results suggest that many students are on grade level while others need additional support. A parent may want to look into what interventions the school offers for students not yet proficient, and how individual progress is tracked.
Onslow County Schools has implemented a significant, lasting change in how reading is taught across all elementary schools. Beginning in the 2021-22 school year, the district adopted a Science of Reading-aligned literacy curriculum, replacing the prior approach. This means students in kindergarten through second grade receive a structured daily block focused on foundational skills such as phonics and decoding, supported by diagnostic assessments. This shift in foundational reading instruction is a defining feature of elementary instruction here.
The district has also updated classroom policies affecting daily school life. Effective in the 2023-24 school year, students may not have cell phones visible or in use during the instructional day. Beginning in 2025, smartwatches were added to this restriction, aligned with a new state law. The school day for elementary students runs from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. as of the 2023-24 school year, a standardized schedule applied across the district. These changes reshape logistics for families managing bus schedules and after-school care.
Maysville itself is a quiet, small town of bedroom-community character, surrounded by pine woods and farmland, with a Main Street anchored by basic retail like a grocery store and dollar store. The broader regional economy is shaped by nearby military installations, particularly Camp Lejeune and Cherry Point. The town is investing in downtown revitalization, including an RV park and a workforce development center in partnership with a local community college, and is developing new housing to serve military families and veterans. Housing values in the area are moderate relative to national benchmarks, and mortgage costs are accessible to families earning a middle-class income.
Silverdale's profile fits a school serving a stable, working-to-middle-income rural community with intentional attention to early literacy. Its academic standing appears typical for a rural elementary school of this size, with proficiency distributed across the student body and room for growth. The school sits within a district actively implementing evidence-based reading instruction and clear classroom policies. A family considering Silverdale should understand that reading instruction here is now structured and diagnostic-driven, that the daily schedule and device policies set boundaries on classroom time, and that the school serves a diverse, economically mixed student body in a small-town setting shaped by proximity to military employment.
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