Sterling School, 99 John McCarroll Way: pre-K to eighth grade, 770 students in 2025-26, rated Excellent on the state report card.
Last checked Oct. 16, 2026. Sources: the school’s website; its administration page; Greenville County Schools’ Find Your School lookup and subdivision list; 2026-27 calendar and school hours; the S.C. Department of Education’s 2025-26 report card data; the federal NCES school directory; the Census Bureau’s city boundary.
Sterling School, on John McCarroll Way inside the city limits, is a pre-K through eighth grade school with no attendance zone of its own. It houses the Charles Townes Center for gifted students, and families in a set of nearby neighborhoods have first choice for its elementary grades. Its elementary grades were rated Excellent, with 68 points, and its middle grades Excellent, with 78 points, on South Carolina’s 2025-26 report card.
Who to call
- Front office: 864-355-4480, 99 John McCarroll Way
- School website: greenville.k12.sc.us/sterling/
- Enrolling a new student: online through a Backpack parent account; forms are on the district’s enrollment page. District InfoLine: 864-355-3100
- Which school is my address zoned for? the district’s Find Your School lookup
- Buses: the district’s transportation page
| Address | 99 John McCarroll Way, Greenville, SC 29607 |
| Phone | 864-355-4480 |
| Grades | Pre-K to 8 |
| District | Greenville County Schools |
| City of Greenville | Inside the city limits |
| School hours | Check with the school (pre-K to 8) |
| State school ID | 2301116 |
Principal
Principal Josh Patterson, according to the school’s leadership page.
Enrollment and teachers
- State count: 770 students in the 2025-26 school year, according to the state’s report card data.
- Federal count: 713 students in the 2023-24 school year, with 52 full-time-equivalent teachers, according to the NCES directory. That is about 14 students per teacher.
State report card
South Carolina rates every public school each year as Excellent, Good, Average, Below Average or Unsatisfactory. The overall rating is built from indicators such as academic achievement, preparing for success, student progress, English learners’ progress and school climate, with graduation rate and college and career readiness added for high schools, according to the state’s report card site and the Education Oversight Committee’s accountability manuals.
2025-26 rating (elementary grades): Excellent, 68 points. On the state’s elementary scale, Excellent 61 to 100, Good 53 to 60, Average 42 to 52, Below Average 34 to 41 and Unsatisfactory 33 and below. An Excellent rating means school performance “substantially exceeds the criteria to ensure all students meet the Profile of the SC Graduate.”
| Indicator (elementary grades) | 2025-26 rating |
|---|---|
| Academic achievement | Excellent |
| Preparing for success | Excellent |
| Student progress | Average |
| School climate | Average |
2025-26 rating (middle school grades): Excellent, 78 points. On the state’s middle school scale, Excellent 56 to 100, Good 48 to 55, Average 36 to 47, Below Average 29 to 35 and Unsatisfactory 28 and below. An Excellent rating means school performance “substantially exceeds the criteria to ensure all students meet the Profile of the SC Graduate.”
| Indicator (middle school grades) | 2025-26 rating |
|---|---|
| Academic achievement | Excellent |
| Preparing for success | Excellent |
| Student progress | Good |
| School climate | Excellent |
- SC READY 2026, share meeting or exceeding expectations (elementary grades): English language arts 91.9% and math 87% (Greenville County Schools: 68.8% and 57.4%)
- SC PASS science, meeting or exceeding (elementary grades): 88.3%
- SC READY 2026, share meeting or exceeding expectations (middle school grades): English language arts 99.6% and math 99.6% (Greenville County Schools: 68.8% and 57.4%)
- SC PASS science, meeting or exceeding (middle school grades): 100%
The full report card, with results by student group, teacher data, school safety and spending, is on the state’s report card pages for its elementary grades and middle school grades. The state published the 2025-26 ratings in October 2026.
Admission and first choice
Sterling has no attendance zone. According to the district’s Sterling School page:
- Charles Townes Center: the district’s gifted and talented program at Sterling. “Parents of children eligible to attend the Charles Townes Center are notified by the district’s Gifted and Talented office and offered a choice to attend the Charles Townes Center.”
- First choice for nearby families: residents of nine district geocodes have “first choice” for 4K through fifth grade at Sterling. Those geocodes are otherwise zoned for Sara Collins, Lake Forest, East North Street, Mitchell Road or Brook Glenn elementary. Requests are made at the school.
- Other families living outside those geocodes “may make a request at Sterling.”
- 4K: placement requests go to the district’s Early Childhood Department, 864-355-7355.
Check your own zoned school with the district’s Find Your School lookup.
Calendar and school hours
Sterling School follows Greenville County Schools’ 2026-27 calendar. Coming dates from the district’s calendar file (all district calendars are on its calendars page):
- Monday, Nov. 2: no school for students (teacher development day)
- Tuesday, Nov. 3: Election Day, student holiday
- Nov. 25-27: Thanksgiving break
- Friday, Dec. 18: half day, end of the second quarter
- Dec. 21 to Jan. 1: winter break; Monday, Jan. 4, is a teacher development day, so students return Tuesday, Jan. 5
School hours: Greenville County elementary schools run 7:45 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. and middle schools 8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m., and the district’s school hours page tells families at K-8 schools to “check with the school for dismissal times.” Call Sterling at 864-355-4480.
More
- The district’s profile of Sterling School
- Every public school in Greenville, with zones and report cards
- Our Greenville schools guide for the district calendar, enrollment and the school board
Frequently asked questions
What grades does Sterling School serve?
Sterling School serves pre-K through eighth grade, according to the state’s 2025-26 report card; the district lists kindergarten through eighth grade in its school lookup.
What is Sterling School’s state report card rating?
Sterling School’s elementary grades were rated Excellent, with 68 points, and its middle grades Excellent, with 78 points, on South Carolina’s 2025-26 school report card.
How do students get into Sterling School?
Students eligible for the Charles Townes Center gifted program are offered a place by the district’s Gifted and Talented office, families in nine nearby district geocodes have first choice for 4K through fifth grade, and other families may make a request at the school.
What time does Sterling School start?
Greenville County elementary schools run 7:45 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. and middle schools 8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.; the district tells families at K-8 schools such as Sterling to check with the school for dismissal times.
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