Best Public Schools in Matthews, NC

Matthews, North Carolina, a suburb of Charlotte, is home to 14 schools serving roughly 13,300 students from elementary through high school. The schools are split between two public systems, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (8 schools) and Union County Public Schools (4 schools), plus two charter schools. The divide matters: Union County Public Schools ranks 43rd of 246 districts statewide, compared with 105th for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, and it shows in the results below.

The four Union County Public Schools are the area's elite performers. Weddington Middle and Antioch Elementary rank in the top 2% of all North Carolina schools; Weddington Elementary is just behind, and Weddington High lands in the top 11% of high schools. All four post average proficiency around 90%. Within Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, the strongest Matthews-area schools are Elizabeth Lane Elementary (93rd percentile), Matthews Elementary (91st percentile), and Crestdale Middle (83rd percentile). Butler High School, with about 1,800 students the largest traditional high school in Matthews, ranks near the 60th percentile and graduates 92.3% of students, yet 31.7% of its students were chronically absent in 2024-25, the highest rate in the area.

Some schools are improving quickly. Crown Point Elementary, where more than 99% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch, jumped from the 30th to the 62nd percentile, and Matthews Charter Academy climbed from the 56th to the 73rd percentile. The two charters are not alike: Socrates Academy, a K-12 school not ranked in the traditional system, reports 84.1% average proficiency, while Matthews Charter Academy serves a higher-need population and posts 65.4%. Levine Middle College High School, an early-college program serving only grades 11 and 12, posted a 94.7% Math III proficiency rate, though its selective model makes direct comparison unfair. The pattern is clear: the highest-performing Matthews schools all have single-digit chronic absenteeism, while lower performers like Mint Hill Middle struggle with attendance. Tackling chronic absenteeism at schools like Butler High School and Mint Hill Middle is the clearest lever for closing the large proficiency gap between the two public school systems in Matthews.