Eaton Elementary School, Wilmington: year-round, report card

Last checked Oct. 11, 2026. Sources: Eaton Elementary, New Hanover County Schools, the N.C. Department of Public Instruction’s 2025-26 accountability data and the federal NCES school directory.

Dr. Hubert Eaton Sr. Elementary School is a New Hanover County Schools year-round elementary school for kindergarten through fifth grade on Gordon Road. It has a Wilmington mailing address, but sits outside the city limits in unincorporated New Hanover County, in the Census Bureau’s Murraysville area. According to the district’s specialty and year-round schools page, it serves students in the northern half of the county. Families apply; there is no automatic assignment.

Who to call

• Front office: 910-397-1544, 6701 Gordon Road, Wilmington, NC 28411
• School website: eaton.nhcs.net
• Applying or enrolling: the district’s enrollment office, 910-251-2929. District main line: 910-254-4200.
• Buses: the district’s Transportation Department

Principal

Principal Rose Marie Wheeler, according to the school’s website.

Enrollment and teachers

• Federal count: 461 students in the 2024-25 school year, with 32 full-time-equivalent teachers, according to the NCES directory. That is about 14 students per teacher. The 2023-24 count was 448.

State report card

North Carolina grades every public school from A to F. According to the N.C. Department of Public Instruction’s technical guide, 80% of the grade comes from an achievement score built on state tests and other indicators, and 20% from students’ academic growth, on a 15-point scale.

From the state’s 2025-26 school assessment and indicator data:

• 82.1% of state tests taken at Eaton were at grade level or above, against 59.2% statewide.
• Reading, grades 3 to 5: 73.3% at grade level. Math: 88.1%. Fifth-grade science: 91.8%.

The grades come from the state’s School Performance Grades dashboard data. The state’s interactive school report card for Eaton covers 2024-25.

How admission works

According to the district’s school assignment page:

• A year-round school runs “nine-week on, three-week intercession (off).” The district has two, Eaton and Codington.
• Families apply to the year-round school located in their assigned territory; the enrollment office, 910-251-2929, can tell you which one covers your address.
• Students are chosen by random lottery. For 2026-27, applications taken March 2 to April 10, 2026, went into the draw. Later applications go on a waitlist, and the district takes them until the day before school starts.
• Transportation is provided as long as the student lives in the territory.

Your zoned elementary school is on the district’s School Locator.

Calendar and bell times

The school day runs 7:40 a.m. to 2:15 p.m., according to the school’s website. From the 2026-27 year-round calendar (PDF), approved Dec. 2, 2025, students are off on:

• Tuesday, Nov. 3: teacher workday
• Wednesday, Nov. 11: Veterans Day
• Nov. 25-27: teacher workday, then Thanksgiving
• Dec. 21 to Jan. 8, 2027: winter break, intersession and teacher workdays; Friday, Dec. 18, is a half day
• Monday, Jan. 18: Martin Luther King Jr. Day

More on Wilmington schools

• The school’s website and its page in the district’s school directory
• Codington Elementary, the district’s other year-round school
• Every public school in Wilmington
• Our Wilmington schools guide for enrollment documents and board meetings

Frequently asked questions

Is Eaton Elementary a year-round school?

Yes. Eaton is one of two New Hanover County Schools year-round elementary schools, on a nine-weeks-on, three-weeks-off schedule. It serves the northern half of the county, and students are chosen by random lottery.

What is Eaton Elementary’s school performance grade?

Eaton earned a B, with a score of 81, in North Carolina’s 2025-26 school performance grades, against 82 in 2024-25.

What time does Eaton Elementary start?

The school’s website lists its hours as 7:40 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.