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Best Public Schools in Henderson, NC

At a glance

Schools

7,197

Students

Districts

Top rankedVance County Early College88^th of 662 North Carolina high schools

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Biggest riser

E O Young Junior Elementary up 302 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

E O Young Junior Elementary 12.8 students per teacher

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Newly ranked this year

AdVance Academy

SchoolDigger ratings

4★

2★

1★

0★

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

Compare North Carolina cities →See the top-ranked North Carolina schools →

Summary:

Best described as a high-poverty community with two very different sets of schools, Henderson, North Carolina has 17 schools serving roughly 7,197 students from Pre-K through grade 12, with most campuses belonging to Vance County Schools, a district ranked 212 out of 246 in North Carolina. Economic need is widespread — 15 of 16 reporting schools have free/reduced-price lunch eligibility above 93% — yet outcomes are sharply split: Henderson Collegiate, Vance County Early College, Vance Charter School, and STEM Early High all beat state averages despite high poverty, while several traditional district schools sit in the bottom 5% of the state.

Henderson Collegiate is the city's academic powerhouse, posting 2025–2026 proficiency rates of 96.1% in 7th grade math, 96.3% in 8th grade science, and 98% on the Math III EOC, with chronic absenteeism of just 15.8%. Vance County Early College is the district's best-ranked school — 87th percentile among high schools — with 88.5% Math I proficiency, 88.1% Biology proficiency, and the city's lowest chronic absenteeism at 9.6%. Vance Charter School also exceeds state averages in nearly every subject, though its 11.8% Math I proficiency is a striking outlier, while STEM Early High stands out as the strongest middle school option, ranking in the 73rd percentile.

The other half of the picture is concerning. Vance County High School has an 86.9% chronic absenteeism rate and only 9% Math I proficiency, and Vance County Middle School, Dabney Elementary, and Clarke Elementary all rank in the bottom 5% to 1% of the state. Chronic absenteeism is the clearest separator between success and struggle: high performers range from 9.6% to 15.8%, while struggling schools range from 26% to 87%, and reading is the biggest citywide weakness — including 13.6% 4th grade reading at Carver Elementary and 18.1% 6th grade reading at Vance County Middle School. Alternative programs such as AdVance Academy and Vance Virtual Village Academy face the highest risk levels, so attendance and early-literacy supports are the most urgent priorities for families to watch.

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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)				EOC Biology (2026)	EOC English II (2026)	EOC Math I (2026)	EOC Math III (2026)	EOG Mathematics (2026)						EOG Reading (2026)						EOG Science (2026)		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 (2025)	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	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
Vance Charter School	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	2090 Ross Mill Road	Henderson	27537	Vance County	Vance Charter School	Yes	No	No	Yes	(252) 431-0440	956	65	14.6		739 (77.3%)	92 (9.6%)	66 (6.9%)	20 (2.1%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (4.0%)								(n/a)	77.9	89.7	11.8	92.0	85.5	82.4	78.3	82.4	69.3	89.3	79.0	77.9	68.1	70.3	72.0	82.7	81.2	88.0
Henderson Collegiate	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	1071 Old Epsom Rd	Henderson	27536	Vance County	Henderson Collegiate	Yes	No	No	Yes	(252) 598-1038	1,334	96	13.9	97.6%	56 (4.2%)	810 (60.7%)	377 (28.3%)	26 (1.9%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	63 (4.7%)								(n/a)	94.9	85.1	75.0	98.0	89.2	89.4	80.7	84.3	96.1	80.2	73.1	77.7	61.4	74.1	87.6	79.2	80.7	96.3
Aycock Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	305 Carey Chapel Rd	Henderson	27537	Vance County	Vance County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 492-1516	376	23	16.4	99.2%	91 (24.2%)	134 (35.6%)	127 (33.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (6.1%)	39.6	912^th of 1492 public elementary schools	38.9%		29.3	1098^th of 1490 public elementary schools	26.3%	186					67.6	55.6	62.1				41.2	38.9	44.8				69.0		$11,127	$1,485	$9,643
Carver Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	987 Carver Sch Rd	Henderson	27537	Vance County	Vance County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 438-6955	134	9	14.5	96.3%	10 (7.5%)	95 (70.9%)	23 (17.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.7%)	5 (3.7%)	7	1454^th of 1492 public elementary schools	2.5%		19.2	1293^rd of 1490 public elementary schools	13.2%	161					46.2	40.9	35.7				38.5	13.6	21.4				32.1		$13,076	$1,526	$11,550
Dabney Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	150 Lanning Road	Henderson	27537	Vance County	Vance County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 438-6918	385	23	16.8	97.7%	35 (9.1%)	289 (75.1%)	35 (9.1%)	4 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (5.7%)	4.2	1471^st of 1492 public elementary schools	1.4%		11.6	1400^th of 1490 public elementary schools	6.0%	71					31.4	26.8	27.9				23.5	33.9	23.3				39.5		$10,993	$1,689	$9,304
Vance County Middle School	Public	6-8	293 Warrenton Road	Henderson	27536	Vance County	Vance County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 492-6041	755	48	15.8	99.5%	46 (6.1%)	532 (70.5%)	144 (19.1%)	3 (0.4%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (3.7%)	6.1	741^st of 778 public middle schools	4.8%		7.9	731^st of 773 public middle schools	5.4%	10								16.5	18.8	26.5				18.1	28.6	30.7		42.9	$10,199	$1,633	$8,566
New Hope Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	10199 NC 39 Hwy N	Henderson	27537	Vance County	Vance County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 438-6549	130	8	16.4	95.4%	11 (8.5%)	96 (73.8%)	13 (10.0%)	1 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (6.9%)	42	879^th of 1492 public elementary schools	41.1%		27.3	1124^th of 1490 public elementary schools	24.6%	245					57.1	16.7	72.7				42.9	41.7	72.7				72.7		$13,738	$1,838	$11,900
Pinkston Street Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	855 Adams St	Henderson	27536	Vance County	Vance County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 438-3441	262	18	14.4	98.9%	6 (2.3%)	184 (70.2%)	62 (23.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (3.8%)	15.3	1359^th of 1492 public elementary schools	8.9%		8.6	1438^th of 1490 public elementary schools	3.5%	79					17.1	41.4	40.7				20.0	24.1	40.7				70.4		$12,037	$2,038	$9,998
E M Rollins Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1600 S Garnett St	Henderson	27536	Vance County	Vance County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 438-2189	322	24	13.3	99.1%	15 (4.7%)	240 (74.5%)	55 (17.1%)	5 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (2.2%)	22.9	1228^th of 1492 public elementary schools	17.7%		28.2	1113^th of 1490 public elementary schools	25.3%	115					28.8	64.7	55.8				27.1	55.9	36.5				50.0		$12,676	$1,569	$11,107
Vance County High School	Public	9-12	925 Garrett Road	Henderson	27537	Vance County	Vance County Schools	No	No	No	No	(252) 430-6000	1,064	46	22.9	99.7%	65 (6.1%)	725 (68.1%)	229 (21.5%)	7 (0.7%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	36 (3.4%)	4	636^th of 662 public high schools	3.9%		6.2	615^th of 641 public high schools	4.1%	21	19.2	21.8	9.0	29.2															$10,959	$1,215	$9,744
L B Yancey Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	311 Hawkins Drive	Henderson	27536	Vance County	Vance County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 438-8336	186	12	15.4	98.4%	6 (3.2%)	105 (56.5%)	63 (33.9%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (5.9%)	27.9	1141^st of 1492 public elementary schools	23.5%		23.6	1208^th of 1490 public elementary schools	18.9%	67					76.9	53.3	33.3				46.2	40.0	27.8				27.8		$11,640	$1,658	$9,981
AdVance Academy	Public	6-12	219 Charles Street	Henderson	27536	Vance County	Vance County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 438-8407	112	7	15.0	97.3%	6 (5.4%)	93 (83.0%)	10 (8.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (2.7%)	0.7	660^th of 662 public high schools	0.3%					(n/a)	338.7	13.2	538.3	8.3					536.4	< 5%					540.3	5.0		5.0	$14,199	$413	$13,786
E O Young Junior Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	6655 Broad Street	Henderson	27537	Vance County	Vance County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 438-6423	174	14	12.8	93.7%	28 (16.1%)	114 (65.5%)	21 (12.1%)	2 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (5.2%)	40.2	902^nd of 1492 public elementary schools	39.5%		24	1204^th of 1490 public elementary schools	19.2%	302					87.5	60.9	52.9				50.0	41.7	17.6				35.3		$15,350	$1,765	$13,584
Vance County Early College	Public	9-12	200 Community College Rd	Henderson	27536	Vance County	Vance County Schools	No	No	No	No	(252) 738-3580	236	7	35.2	98.7%	25 (10.6%)	125 (53.0%)	75 (31.8%)	7 (3.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.7%)	88.9	88^th of 662 public high schools	86.7%		92.6	55^th of 641 public high schools	91.4%	33	88.1	87.3	88.5	97.5															$7,695	$428	$7,267
Clarke Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	309 Mount Carmel Church Road	Henderson	27537	Vance County	Vance County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 438-8415	364	22	16.5	99.2%	26 (7.1%)	250 (68.7%)	68 (18.7%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (4.7%)	4	1474^th of 1492 public elementary schools	1.2%		5.7	1464^th of 1490 public elementary schools	1.7%	10					24.2	32.1	36.4				21.2	25.0	25.0				40.9		$10,636	$1,265	$9,371
STEM Early High	Public	6-8	219 Charles Street	Henderson	27536	Vance County	Vance County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 738-2260	281	17	16.6	98.9%	44 (15.7%)	134 (47.7%)	87 (31.0%)	7 (2.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	8 (2.8%)	69.6	211^th of 778 public middle schools	72.9%		75.5	164^th of 773 public middle schools	78.8%	47								51.4	68.3	63.8				55.2	73.1	73.2		78.4	$7,944	$592	$7,352
Vance Virtual Village Academy	Public, Virtual	6-12	219 Charles Street	Henderson	27536	Vance County	Vance County Schools	No	No	Yes	No	(252) 506-7172	126	7	17.1	79.4%	19 (15.1%)	80 (63.5%)	12 (9.5%)	3 (2.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (9.5%)	8	614^th of 662 public high schools	7.3%		10.4	597^th of 641 public high schools	6.9%	17	10.0	53.3	6.3	20.8				7.7	19.0	29.4				15.4	52.4	47.1		47.1
Sledge Institute	Public, Charter	K-6	1875 Gun Club Road	Henderson	27537	Vance County	Sledge Institute	Yes	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(919) 263-0064	0																		(n/a)								27.6						41.4

Cities Near Henderson

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Kittrell	4.41 mi	1	477^th
Oxford	8.52 mi	6	326^th
Creedmoor	10.15 mi	5	165^th
Stovall	12.21 mi	1	358^th
Norlina	14.29 mi	2	471^st

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.