Best Public Schools in Winton, NC

The city of Winton, North Carolina, is served by a single public high school, Cs Brown High - STEM Program, which serves grades 9–12 and is part of Hertford County Schools, a district ranked 186th out of 246 in the state. With only 100 students enrolled and a 16.6 student–teacher ratio, this is a very small school environment. The student body faces significant economic disadvantage, with 97% of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, and per-pupil spending was approximately $21,553 in 2018–2019.

Since Cs Brown High - STEM Program is the only school in Winton, cross-school comparisons are not possible, but the data show a school that performs above its district and sometimes above the state. The school currently holds a 3-star rating while its home district holds only 1 star, and the school ranks in the 62nd percentile statewide compared with the district's 24th percentile. In 2025–2026, the school exceeds state averages in Biology (71% proficient vs. 58.5% statewide) and Math III (81.8% vs. 68.9% statewide). English II proficiency sits at 62.5%, just below the state average of 64.6% but well above the district's 51.8%. Math I proficiency is 47.8%, slightly beating the state's 42.1% but reflecting a sharp 21-point drop from the prior year's 68.8%.

Perhaps the school's biggest asset is attendance: its chronic absenteeism rate is just 16.8%, less than half the district's 38.2% and below the state's 24.2%. However, the school's state ranking has declined over three years, falling from the 79th percentile in 2023–2024 to the 74th percentile in 2024–2025 and now to the 62nd percentile in 2025–2026. Because enrollment is only 100 students, proficiency percentages can shift considerably with just a few students, so year-to-year changes such as the Math I drop should be interpreted with caution. Overall, parents should know that Cs Brown High - STEM Program is a high-poverty school that outperforms its district in nearly every available metric and exceeds state averages in key STEM subjects, but addressing Math I performance will be essential to reversing its recent slide.