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Best Public Schools in Lawrence, MA

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At a glance

Schools

15,552

Students

Districts

Top rankedCommunity Day Charter Public School430^th of 899 Massachusetts elementary schools

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Biggest riser

Lawrence Family Development Charter School up 76 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Rollins Early Childhood Center 7.4 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

1★

0★

9 schools without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

Compare Massachusetts cities →See the top-ranked Massachusetts schools →

Summary:

Lawrence, Massachusetts has 29 schools serving about 15,552 students: 16 elementary, 8 middle, 4 high, and 1 alternative school. Most students attend the Lawrence public district, which is ranked 337 out of 351 districts statewide — 4th percentile, 0 stars. Three charter schools serve the rest: Community Day Charter Public School, Lawrence Family Development Charter School, and Phoenix Academy Public Charter High School Lawrence. Statewide MCAS Next Generation proficiency runs around 40% in ELA, math, and science, but the Lawrence district's all-grade rates are far lower: ELA 17.46%, math 17.28%, science 17.8%, and 8th grade civics 16.73%.

The clearest bright spot is Community Day Charter Public School, the only 3-star school here, with all-grade proficiency above state in math (49.04%) and science (44.93%) and slightly above in ELA (42.48%); its 8th graders reach ELA 56.07%, math 63.89%, science 50.93%, and civics 55.56%. Lawrence High School shows an isolated standout — 54.81% proficient in physics, above the state's 46.58% — while its other results, such as 10th grade ELA 15.7% and math 13.11%, stay low. Among district schools, Emily G Wetherbee has above-state 3rd grade ELA (46.67%) and math (48.89%), and Spark Academy is the strongest district middle school at 30th percentile, followed by Parthum Middle School and Frost Middle School.

Other schools sit near the bottom of state rankings. Arlington Elementary ranks at the 0 percentile with ELA 9.55% and math 5.61%, Francis M Leahy Elementary is at the 1st percentile, and Francis M Leahy Middle reports ELA 6.53%, math 5.99%, and science 6.9%. Alternative programs show severe outcomes: Phoenix Academy Public Charter High School Lawrence reports a 1.9% graduation rate and 46.2% dropout rate, while School for Exceptional Studies spends $56,485 per student and reports 11.1% graduation. Because spending and class size do not track simply with results, families should weigh each school's own grade-level and subject data rather than district averages alone.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts (2026)								MCAS Next Generation Mathematics (2026)								MCAS Next Generation Science (2026)				MCAS Next Generation Biology (2026)	MCAS Next Generation Physics (2026)	MCAS Next Generation Civics (2026)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2015)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts 3rd Grade	MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts 4th Grade	MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts 5th Grade	MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts 6th Grade	MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts 7th Grade	MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts 8th Grade	MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts 10th Grade	MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts All Grades	MCAS Next Generation Mathematics 3rd Grade	MCAS Next Generation Mathematics 4th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Mathematics 5th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Mathematics 6th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Mathematics 7th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Mathematics 8th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Mathematics 10th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Mathematics All Grades	MCAS Next Generation Science 5th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Science 8th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Science 10th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Science All Grades	MCAS Next Generation Biology End of Course	MCAS Next Generation Physics End of Course	MCAS Next Generation Civics 8th Grade	Total
Community Day Charter Public School	Public, Charter	PK, KG-8	73 Prospect Street	Lawrence	01841	Essex County	Community Day Charter Public School (District)	Yes	No	No	Yes	(978) 681-9910	1,200	136	8.8	74.5%	16 (1.3%)	17 (1.4%)	1,148 (95.7%)	4 (0.3%)	3 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (1.0%)	52.2	430^th of 899 public elementary schools	52.2%		52.6	429^th of 906 public elementary schools	52.6%	1	39.7	31.4	38.4	47.4	43.2	56.1		42.5	41.3	44.6	51.5	51.8	43.2	63.9		49.0	38.4	50.9		44.9			55.6	$20,864
Lawrence Family Development Charter School	Public, Charter	PK, KG-8	34 West Street	Lawrence	01841	Essex County	Lawrence Family Development Charter (District)	Yes	No	No	Yes	(978) 689-9863	899	70	12.8	92.8%	0 (0.0%)	5 (0.6%)	894 (99.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	21.9	711^th of 899 public elementary schools	20.9%		15.2	787^th of 906 public elementary schools	13.1%	76	32.0	22.1	29.3	16.2	32.4	31.8		27.2	20.0	16.4	34.2	25.7	14.9	22.7		22.0	29.3	15.2		23.0			28.8	$19,567
Phoenix Academy Public Charter High School Lawrence	Public, Charter	9-12	15 Union Street	Lawrence	01840	Essex County	Phoenix Academy Public Charter High School Lawrence (Distri	Yes	No	No	Yes	(978) 722-8410	140	5	27.8		14 (10.0%)	6 (4.3%)	112 (80.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (3.6%)								(n/a)															0.0						0.0			$32,446
Lawrence Early Childhood Center	Public	PK-K	301 Haverhill Street	Lawrence	01841	Essex County	Lawrence	No	No	No	Yes	(978) 975-5956	205	17	12.4	86.4%	2 (1.0%)	6 (2.9%)	196 (95.6%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)																								$22,554
John Breen School	Public	PK-K	114 Osgood Street	Lawrence	01843	Essex County	Lawrence	No	No	No	Yes	(978) 975-5932	262	26	10.0	78.1%	11 (4.2%)	8 (3.1%)	232 (88.5%)	8 (3.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.1%)								(n/a)																								$24,387
Alexander B Bruce	Public	3-8	135 Butler Street	Lawrence	01841	Essex County	Lawrence	No	No	No	Yes	(978) 975-5935	462	41	11.2	93.9%	7 (1.5%)	12 (2.6%)	438 (94.8%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.9%)	15.3	412^th of 478 public middle schools	13.8%		16.1	415^th of 484 public middle schools	14.3%	3	22.8	13.9	6.0	10.5	21.9	17.5		15.4	29.8	14.1	9.0	10.5	15.9	21.3		16.8	19.4	18.8		19.1			11.3	$24,293
Emily G Wetherbee	Public	K-8	75 Newton Street	Lawrence	01843	Essex County	Lawrence	No	No	No	Yes	(978) 557-2900	480	55	8.7	90.0%	14 (2.9%)	7 (1.5%)	445 (92.7%)	12 (2.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	29.3	634^th of 899 public elementary schools	29.5%		25.8	673^rd of 906 public elementary schools	25.7%	39	46.7	36.4	18.0	14.3	14.0	19.3		24.1	48.9	34.1	8.0	32.7	8.0	12.3		23.1	16.0	22.8		19.6			10.5	$24,070
Francis M Leahy Elementary	Public	K-4	100 Erving Avenue	Lawrence	01840	Essex County	Lawrence	No	No	No	Yes	(978) 975-5959	525	39	13.4	88.2%	7 (1.3%)	7 (1.3%)	509 (97.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	4.6	891^st of 899 public elementary schools	0.9%		3.6	901^st of 906 public elementary schools	0.6%	10	11.2	9.8						10.5	4.5	9.6						7.0								$22,925
James F Hennessey	Public	PK, KG-2	122 Hancock Street	Lawrence	01841	Essex County	Lawrence	No	No	No	Yes	(978) 975-5950	300	32	9.5	88.1%	9 (3.0%)	5 (1.7%)	282 (94.0%)	3 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)								(n/a)																								$26,049
Gerard A. Guilmette	Public	1-4	80 Bodwell Street	Lawrence	01841	Essex County	Lawrence	No	No	No	Yes	(978) 686-8150	485	44	10.9	94.1%	12 (2.5%)	6 (1.2%)	458 (94.4%)	5 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	2 (0.4%)	4.7	889^th of 899 public elementary schools	1.1%		3.8	900^th of 906 public elementary schools	0.7%	11	13.6	5.8						9.5	9.9	7.6						8.7								$22,063
Edward F. Parthum	Public	K-4	255 E Haverhill Street	Lawrence	01841	Essex County	Lawrence	No	No	No	Yes	(978) 691-7200	656	49	13.3	91.9%	23 (3.5%)	13 (2.0%)	614 (93.6%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.5%)	12.1	820^th of 899 public elementary schools	8.8%		19.4	747^th of 906 public elementary schools	17.5%	73	24.4	13.4						18.5	23.8	14.2						18.6								$21,540
South Lawrence East Elementary School	Public	1-4	165 Crawford Street	Lawrence	01843	Essex County	Lawrence	No	No	No	Yes	(978) 975-5970	666	56	12.0	92.0%	14 (2.1%)	11 (1.7%)	628 (94.3%)	10 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.5%)	20.9	717^th of 899 public elementary schools	20.2%		21.3	717^th of 906 public elementary schools	20.9%		26.1	18.0						22.1	33.6	25.9						29.8								$22,219
Arlington Middle School	Public	5-8	150 Arlington Street	Lawrence	01841	Essex County	Lawrence	No	No	No	Yes	(978) 975-5930	543	45	12.2	93.7%	9 (1.7%)	1 (0.2%)	524 (96.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.6%)	13.3	425^th of 478 public middle schools	11.1%		12.9	433^rd of 484 public middle schools	10.5%	8			3.7	8.5	14.8	13.8		10.7			0.0	27.7	11.0	18.6		14.1	10.2	14.5		12.7			8.3	$21,775
Robert Frost	Public	K-4	33 Hamlet Street	Lawrence	01843	Essex County	Lawrence	No	No	No	Yes	(978) 975-5941	568	49	11.5	82.5%	34 (6.0%)	15 (2.6%)	497 (87.5%)	17 (3.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (0.9%)	19.8	729^th of 899 public elementary schools	18.9%		27.7	655^th of 906 public elementary schools	27.7%	74	25.2	20.2						22.8	33.3	21.2						27.4								$22,640
John K Tarbox	Public	1-4	59 Alder Street	Lawrence	01841	Essex County	Lawrence	No	No	No	Yes	(978) 975-5983	281	25	11.4	94.6%	5 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	275 (97.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	20.6	720^th of 899 public elementary schools	19.9%		17.4	769^th of 906 public elementary schools	15.1%	49	22.9	14.3						19.3	35.4	26.5						31.7								$23,914
Parthum Middle School	Public	5-8	255 East Haverhill Street	Lawrence	01841	Essex County	Lawrence	No	No	No	Yes	(978) 691-7224	585	42	13.9	94.0%	20 (3.4%)	11 (1.9%)	550 (94.0%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	26.2	345^th of 478 public middle schools	27.8%		26.2	348^th of 484 public middle schools	28.1%	3			21.3	15.1	31.9	31.6		25.6			34.7	20.2	28.3	27.3		27.7	16.5	18.3		17.5			18.8	$19,854
School for Exceptional Studies	Public, Alternative	PK, KG-12	233 Haverhill St.	Lawrence	01841	Essex County	Lawrence	No	No	No	Yes	(978) 975-5980	118	31	3.7	92.0%	6 (5.1%)	5 (4.2%)	106 (89.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)		0.0						0.0		0.0						0.0				0.0				$71,680
High School Learning Center	Public	9-12	1 Parker Street	Lawrence	01843	Essex County	Lawrence	No	No	No	Yes	(978) 975-5917	198	15	12.8	86.5%	6 (3.0%)	3 (1.5%)	186 (93.9%)	3 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)							0.0								0.0									$22,511
Guilmette Middle School	Public	5-8	80 Bodwell St	Lawrence	01841	Essex County	Lawrence	No	No	No	Yes	(978) 722-8270	457	51	8.9	95.0%	10 (2.2%)	10 (2.2%)	433 (94.7%)	4 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	22	376^th of 478 public middle schools	21.3%		21.9	380^th of 484 public middle schools	21.5%	4			13.9	19.5	19.8	28.3		20.6			3.0	12.5	9.9	31.6		14.7	19.8	23.7		21.9			22.8	$25,006
Rollins Early Childhood Center	Public	PK-K	451 Howard Street	Lawrence	01841	Essex County	Lawrence	No	No	No	Yes	(978) 722-8190	157	21	7.4	81.3%	3 (1.9%)	1 (0.6%)	152 (96.8%)	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)																								$25,435
Frost Middle School	Public	5-8	33 Hamlet Street	Lawrence	01843	Essex County	Lawrence	No	No	No	Yes	(978) 722-8810	508	35	14.5	83.0%	26 (5.1%)	9 (1.8%)	454 (89.4%)	13 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.8%)	26	347^th of 478 public middle schools	27.4%		21.5	382^nd of 484 public middle schools	21.1%	35			25.0	23.1	23.0	29.2		24.8			27.9	28.3	19.7	25.0		25.1	32.7	31.6		32.2			18.8	$21,272
Spark Academy	Public	5-8	165 Crawford Street	Lawrence	01843	Essex County	Lawrence	No	No	No	Yes	(978) 975-5993	443	47	9.4	92.6%	12 (2.7%)	5 (1.1%)	418 (94.4%)	6 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	28.4	334^th of 478 public middle schools	30.1%		30.2	323^rd of 484 public middle schools	33.3%	11			19.9	20.3	29.8	26.6		24.0			16.6	24.2	30.7	27.3		24.4	22.2	27.6		24.7			22.5	$23,572
Francis M Leahy Middle	Public	5-8	100 Erving Avenue	Lawrence	01841	Essex County	Lawrence	No	No	No	Yes	(978) 722-8159	310	23	13.7	93.7%	2 (0.6%)	4 (1.3%)	304 (98.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7.7	461^st of 478 public middle schools	3.6%		7.2	472^nd of 484 public middle schools	2.5%	11			3.0	5.0	7.4	10.6		6.5			1.0	5.8	3.2	13.5		6.0	4.0	9.6		6.9			9.6	$22,177
Arlington Elementary	Public	K-4	150 Arlington Street	Lawrence	01841	Essex County	Lawrence	No	No	No	Yes	(978) 722-8311	558	63	8.9	93.3%	14 (2.5%)	4 (0.7%)	539 (96.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	4.2	895^th of 899 public elementary schools	0.4%		4.3	898^th of 906 public elementary schools	0.9%	3	8.9	10.2						9.6	2.0	9.4						5.6								$24,015
Henry K. Oliver Elementary	Public	K-4	183 Haverhill Street	Lawrence	01840	Essex County	Lawrence	No	No	No	Yes	(978) 722-8170	469	43	10.9	90.4%	8 (1.7%)	9 (1.9%)	448 (95.5%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.6%)	5.6	880^th of 899 public elementary schools	2.1%		6	882^nd of 906 public elementary schools	2.6%	2	11.0	9.2						10.1	13.3	9.2						11.3								$23,042
Henry K. Oliver Middle School	Public	5-8	183 Haverhill Street	Lawrence	01840	Essex County	Lawrence	No	No	No	Yes	(978) 722-8670	348	30	11.6	94.3%	2 (0.6%)	4 (1.1%)	339 (97.4%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	15.2	413^th of 478 public middle schools	13.6%		11.6	442^nd of 484 public middle schools	8.7%	29			17.8	16.7	15.7	22.7		18.2			7.6	5.8	5.4	17.6		9.2	14.3	10.4		12.3			28.4	$23,654
Lawrence Family Public Academy	Public	PK-K	526 Lowell Street	Lawrence	01841	Essex County	Lawrence	No	No	No	Yes	(978) 722-8030	202	21	9.8	82.9%	3 (1.5%)	7 (3.5%)	191 (94.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)								(n/a)																								$22,594
Lawrence High School	Public	9-12	70-71 North Parish Road	Lawrence	01843	Essex County	Lawrence	No	No	No	Yes	(978) 975-2750	3,453	253	13.6		68 (2.0%)	51 (1.5%)	3,286 (95.2%)	33 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (0.2%)	13.7	312^th of 353 public high schools	11.6%		10	323^rd of 349 public high schools	7.4%	11							15.7								13.1				10.9		0.0	54.8		$22,186
RISE Academy	Public	6-12	60 Allen Street	Lawrence	01841	Essex County	Lawrence	No	No	No	Yes	(978) 975-5905	74	10	7.7		2 (2.7%)	0 (0.0%)	70 (94.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.4%)								(n/a)							7.7								0.0									$28,930

Cities Near Lawrence

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Methuen	1.47 mi	6	301^st
North Andover	1.75 mi	7	140^th
Andover	2.06 mi	11	52^nd
Haverhill	4.47 mi	16	304^th
Bradford	5.78 mi	2	276^th

See the top MA Massachusetts cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.