The top reported proficiency rate is 55% in Math. The lowest is 45% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Sheep-harney Elementary
Sheep-Harney Elementary is a public PreK through fifth-grade school in Elizabeth City, a small Pasquotank River port town in northeastern North Carolina anchored by the Coast Guard and Elizabeth City State University. The school enrolls a small student population across seven grade bands, from a substantial pre-K cohort through fifth grade.
The student body reflects the composition of Elizabeth City itself. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student population is roughly split between Black students and white students, with a meaningful Hispanic enrollment and a smaller Asian population; the racial and ethnic diversity is pronounced for rural eastern North Carolina.
On the most recent state End-of-Grade assessments, Sheep-Harney's students showed proficiency rates that sit below the state's overall performance benchmarks. In math, roughly half of tested third- through fifth-grade students achieved proficiency or above. In reading, the proficiency rate fell below half. In science, which had a smaller tested cohort, proficiency was near half. The assessment change notes indicate that science testing underwent a format and cut-score change in the state system, so direct comparison to prior years is not straightforward.
A substantial portion of the student population takes the school's Spanish Dual Language Immersion program, which expanded to Sheep-Harney for the first time in 2025-26 as part of a district-wide initiative. In the DLI pathway, kindergarten and first grade are taught entirely in Spanish; second grade introduces English reading through phonics; and from third grade forward, the school day is split between Spanish and English instruction. Elementary DLI classes are capped at roughly twenty-five students per cohort, and enrollment is by parent choice at kindergarten entry. The program is the entry point to a planned K-12 sequence including a middle school International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program and a high school IB diploma option, so families selecting DLI are committing to a long-term language and curriculum pathway.
The district recently closed Pasquotank Elementary at the end of the 2023-24 school year and moved its pre-K program out of Sheep-Harney to the renovated Pasquotank building. This shift changed Sheep-Harney's enrollment composition and removed a major source of young learners from the school. The closure reflects enrollment declines across the district over recent years.
Elizabeth City itself is experiencing a growth phase: downtown has undergone revitalization with new restaurants and public art along the waterfront, and new residential subdivisions are being built on the city's outskirts. The housing market is affordable relative to state and national benchmarks. The major employers include the Coast Guard, Elizabeth City State University, Sentara Albemarle Medical Center, and regional retailers, anchoring a local economy centered on healthcare, education, and public service. Downtown is walkable in its compact historic core, though the city as a whole is car-dependent. A parent considering Sheep-Harney should look into current academic support structures and intervention strategies the school may have in place, given the gap between current proficiency and state targets, and should clarify with the school how the recent pre-K relocation and the new DLI expansion are shaping the school's instructional focus and resources.
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