Best Public Schools in Franklin, NC

Summary:

The city of Franklin, North Carolina is home to 10 schools serving students from elementary through high school, including 4 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, 3 high schools, and 1 alternative school. The schools in this area display a mix of strong performance and significant challenges, with pockets of excellence alongside concerning achievement gaps.

Among the standout schools is Macon Early College High School, which consistently ranks among the top 25% of high schools in the state and boasts high proficiency rates on end-of-course exams. In contrast, Bartram Academy, the district's alternative high school, struggles with very low proficiency rates on assessments. Elementary schools like Cartoogechaye Elementary and South Macon Elementary perform well above district and state averages, while other schools lag behind.

The data also reveals significant socioeconomic challenges facing the Franklin area, with most schools reporting extremely high percentages of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. This high poverty level may contribute to the wide disparities in student performance observed across the Macon County Schools district. Further analysis would be needed to fully understand the drivers behind these trends and develop strategies to support all students in the Franklin community.

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				EOC Biology (2025)	EOC English II (2025)	EOC Math I (2025)	EOC Math III (2025)	EOG Mathematics (2025)						EOG Reading (2025)						EOG Science (2025)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
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	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	EOC Biology End of Course	EOC English II End of Course	EOC Math I End of Course	EOC Math III End of Course	EOG Mathematics 3rd Grade	EOG Mathematics 4th Grade	EOG Mathematics 5th Grade	EOG Mathematics 6th Grade	EOG Mathematics 7th Grade	EOG Mathematics 8th Grade	EOG Reading 3rd Grade	EOG Reading 4th Grade	EOG Reading 5th Grade	EOG Reading 6th Grade	EOG Reading 7th Grade	EOG Reading 8th Grade	EOG Science 5th Grade	EOG Science 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Cartoogechaye Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	3295 Old Murphy Road	Franklin	28734	Macon County	Macon County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 524-2845	354	25	14.3	99.2%	256 (72.3%)	5 (1.4%)	76 (21.5%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (4.5%)	61.1	545^th of 1490 public elementary schools	63.4%		51.5	721^st of 1505 public elementary schools	52.1%	176					70.0	56.9					54.3	58.5							$10,078	$941	$9,137
East Franklin Elementary	Public	K-4	100 Watauga St	Franklin	28734	Macon County	Macon County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 524-3216	315	25	12.5	99.0%	200 (63.5%)	0 (0.0%)	109 (34.6%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.3%)	31.1	1072^nd of 1490 public elementary schools	28.1%		42	890^th of 1505 public elementary schools	40.9%	182					45.7	44.7					41.4	52.6							$10,178	$875	$9,304
Franklin High	Public	9-12	100 Panther Drive	Franklin	28734	Macon County	Macon County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 524-6467	996	47	21.2	46.3%	685 (68.8%)	8 (0.8%)	260 (26.1%)	6 (0.6%)	3 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	34 (3.4%)	48.6	313^th of 641 public high schools	51.2%		52.7	283^rd of 640 public high schools	55.8%	30	50.7	60.9	25.8	72.1															$9,457	$662	$8,795
Iotla Valley Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	1166 Iotla Church Road	Franklin	28734	Macon County	Macon County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 524-2938	408	32	12.9	99.3%	328 (80.4%)	2 (0.5%)	64 (15.7%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (2.9%)	41	900^th of 1490 public elementary schools	39.6%		51.1	729^th of 1505 public elementary schools	51.6%	171					53.0	55.6					34.8	59.7							$10,664	$1,364	$9,300
Macon Middle School	Public	7-8	1345 Wells Grove Rd	Franklin	28734	Macon County	Macon County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 524-3766	576	41	13.9	99.5%	402 (69.8%)	6 (1.0%)	149 (25.9%)	2 (0.3%)	4 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (2.3%)	47.3	411^th of 773 public middle schools	46.8%		47.4	420^th of 793 public middle schools	47.0%	9									52.8	44.4					48.4	46.2		63.7	$9,141	$985	$8,156
South Macon Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	855 Addington Bridge Road	Franklin	28734	Macon County	Macon County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 369-0796	465	34	13.8	99.4%	325 (69.9%)	0 (0.0%)	124 (26.7%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (3.2%)	61.2	543^rd of 1490 public elementary schools	63.6%		66.1	472^nd of 1505 public elementary schools	68.6%	71					67.9	65.9					46.9	59.8							$11,730	$1,457	$10,273
Macon Early College High School	Public	9-12	77 Siler Farm Road	Franklin	28734	Macon County	Macon County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 524-2002	154	2	74.3	98.1%	98 (63.6%)	1 (0.6%)	45 (29.2%)	3 (1.9%)	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (3.9%)	74.6	158^th of 641 public high schools	75.4%		81.7	127^th of 640 public high schools	80.2%	31	61.0	92.5	66.7	67.6															$5,764	$103	$5,661
Bartram Academy	Public	9-12	158 Union School Rd	Franklin	28734	Macon County	Macon County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 369-1277	102	3	34.6	91.2%	77 (75.5%)	5 (4.9%)	15 (14.7%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (2.9%)								(n/a)		8.0																	$11,469	$453	$11,015
Mountain View Intermediate	Public	5-6	161 Clarks Chapel Road	Franklin	28734	Macon County	Macon County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 349-1325	614	37	16.5	99.5%	460 (74.9%)	3 (0.5%)	127 (20.7%)	2 (0.3%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (3.3%)								(n/a)							50.7	49.3					43.8	46.1			55.9		$8,190	$1,131	$7,059
Macon Virtual Academy	Public, Virtual, Alternative	K-12	1202 Old Murphy Rd	Franklin	28734	Macon County	Macon County Schools	No	No	Yes	No	(828) 524-3314	44	0		43.2%	38 (86.4%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (11.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (2.3%)								(n/a)	36.4	42.9

Cities Near Franklin

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Cullowhee	12.98 mi	2	403^rd
Sylva	14.17 mi	5	256^th
Bryson City	14.23 mi	7	328^th
Topton	14.73 mi	1
Highlands	14.95 mi	1

See the top NC North Carolina cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction.

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.