The top reported proficiency rate is 62% in Math. The lowest is 58% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Queens Creek Elementary
Queens Creek Elementary is a small school serving pre-kindergarten through grade five in Swansboro, a coastal town in Onslow County. The school has an enrollment of about 760 students distributed relatively evenly across its grade bands, with roughly half of its student population qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is predominantly White, with smaller shares of Hispanic, multiracial, Black, and Asian students. Special-population enrollment data was not available.
The most recent state assessment results, from the 2024-25 school year, show math proficiency near the midpoint of typical elementary performance, with reading proficiency modestly lower. Science proficiency was comparable to reading. No multi-year trend data was available, so it is not possible to see whether these results represent improvement, decline, or stability. Trend data would help a parent understand the direction of academic momentum at the school, and a parent considering the school may want to ask the principal directly how performance has moved over the past few years.
Swansboro itself is a growing waterfront town with a compact, walkable historic downtown centered on shops and restaurants along Front Street and the White Oak River. The broader area has seen active residential development in subdivisions and gated communities away from the historic core, with median home values rising notably in recent years. The local economy is shaped substantially by proximity to Camp Lejeune and MCAS Cherry Point, giving the area a meaningful military-connected population. Downtown civic life anchors around Bicentennial Park, public waterfront docks, and the library branch, while schools sit on separate campuses outside the town center.
Onslow County Schools has made three lasting changes that touch every family in the district. Starting in 2021-22, all elementary schools shifted to a Science of Reading-aligned literacy curriculum, meaning every K-3 student now receives structured foundational skills instruction daily, with placement in intervention tiers driven by diagnostic assessments like mClass and iReady. Beginning in 2023-24, the district implemented standardized bell times across all grade levels and a cellphone policy that bars devices from being visible or used during instruction; in 2025 the district expanded this to include smartwatches, aligning with a new state law. Additionally, high school classrooms across the district now use generative AI tools for curriculum delivery and student writing feedback, governed by published principles around security, privacy, and ethics.
Housing in the Swansboro area is moderately priced relative to the national benchmark, with median home values above the state average but below the national mean. Rental housing is available and typically costs less than the monthly mortgage on median-priced homes in the area. The local job market has unemployment near the national average.
State assessment data for grades three through eight is reported on the school's profile; kindergarten and pre-K are not assessed. No information was available on special-education rates, English-learner enrollment, chronic absenteeism, discipline, or course offerings. A parent evaluating Queens Creek would benefit from asking the school directly about interventions for students below proficiency, the composition of advanced programs if any exist at the elementary level, and how the school partners with families on literacy goals aligned with the Science of Reading approach now standard district-wide.
See more original research from School Decision →