Jesse C. Carson High School
Jesse C. Carson High School (often referred to as Carson High School or Carson) is a public, co-educational secondary school located in China Grove, NC. It is one of seven high schools in the Rowan-Salisbury School System. History. Carson High School opened in 2006, drawing students from four other high schools in Rowan County. It was named for former Rowan County School System Superintendent Jesse C. Carson. School information. For the 2010–11 school year, Carson High School had a total population of 1,173 students and 73.60 teachers on a (FTE) basis. This produced  a student-teacher ratio of 15.94:1. That same year out of the student total, the gender ratio was 50.04% male to 49.96% female. The demographic group makeup was: White, 83.89%; Black, 6.22%; Hispanic, 7.25%; Asian/Pacific Islander, 1.19%; and American Indian, 0.26% (two or more races: 1.19%). For the same school year, 46.06% of the students received free and reduced-cost lunches. Graduations are generally held at the Carson High School campus. Campus. The campus was designed by Shuller, Ferris, Lindstrom & Associates (sfl+a Architects) and built by New Atlantic Contracting, Inc. Academics. Carson High School was rated a School of  Distinction for the 2009–10 and 2010–11 school years on the North Carolina State Board of Education's yearly School Report Cards. In 2012, Carson High School was listed as one of U.S. News & World Report's Best High Schools. It was ranked at the Bronze Level. For the 2016–2017 year, Carson ranked first in growth among all high schools in Rowan, Cabarrus and Iredell Counties and neighboring Kannapolis City. Ranked in the 94th percentile of all North Carolina public schools, Carson boasts an 88% graduation rate, triple-digit population growth, and a total amount of scholarship funds earned that has  increased from $775,000 in 2014 to $4.98 million for the 2016–2017 school year. Athletics. Carson High School is a 3A school in the North Piedmont Conference. Other high schools in the conference include East Rowan, North Iredell, South Iredell, Statesville, and West Rowan. Carson fields teams in the following sports: baseball (boys), tennis (boys/girls), basketball (boys/girls), football (boys), soccer (boys/girls), softball (girls), volleyball (girls), wrestling (boys), cross country (boys/girls), indoor track (boys/girls), outdoor track (boys/girls), swimming (boys/girls), golf (boys/girls) and cheerleading (girls) . The school's mascot is the "Cougars", and  the school's colors are orange and midnight blue. To date, their primary in-county athletic rivals are the South Rowan Raiders.