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Best Public Schools in Avery County, NC

At a glance

Schools

2,257

Students

Districts

5-star school

Top rankedBanner Elk Elementary114^th of 1,492 North Carolina elementary schools

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Biggest riser

Riverside Elementary up 488 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Marjorie Williams Academy 6.5 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

5★

4★

3★

2★

1★

1 school without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

See the top-ranked North Carolina schools →

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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
Marjorie Williams Academy	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	129 Allen Circle	Newland	28616	Avery County	Marjorie Williams Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(828) 733-5241	130	20	6.5	96.9%	95 (73.1%)	14 (10.8%)	17 (13.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (3.1%)								(n/a)		90.0	31.3		69.2			54.5			46.2			54.5
Avery County High	Public	9-12	401 Avery County High School R	Newland	28657	Avery County	Avery County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 733-0151	542	27	20.2	99.3%	423 (78.0%)	1 (0.2%)	92 (17.0%)	3 (0.6%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	20 (3.7%)	27.1	499^th of 662 public high schools	24.6%		26.1	487^th of 641 public high schools	24.0%	12	40.9	53.5	14.9	65.5															$10,821	$537	$10,285
Banner Elk Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	155 Orchard Lane	Banner Elk	28604	Avery County	Avery County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 737-5700	159	10	15.3	92.5%	139 (87.4%)	2 (1.3%)	14 (8.8%)	4 (2.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	89.9	114^th of 1492 public elementary schools	92.4%		90.5	104^th of 1490 public elementary schools	93.0%	10					81.0	90.0	83.3				81.0	83.3	83.3				72.2		$11,831	$1,739	$10,092
Crossnore Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1000 Walt Clark Road	Crossnore	28616	Avery County	Avery County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 737-7204	184	15	12.1	98.4%	152 (82.6%)	1 (0.5%)	27 (14.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.6%)	51.8	699^th of 1492 public elementary schools	53.2%		53.7	678^th of 1490 public elementary schools	54.5%	21					61.3	68.4	84.0				32.3	52.6	48.0				80.0		$12,666	$1,132	$11,534
Avery Middle	Public	6-8	102 Old Montezuma Road	Newland	28657	Avery County	Avery County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 733-0145	181	19	9.3	98.3%	138 (76.2%)	1 (0.6%)	41 (22.7%)	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	32.6	534^th of 778 public middle schools	31.4%		19.4	643^rd of 773 public middle schools	16.8%	109								50.0	45.6	16.7				46.9	52.6	40.9		69.7	$12,188	$1,295	$10,894
Newland Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	750 Linville Street	Newland	28657	Avery County	Avery County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 733-4911	214	16	13.6	96.7%	121 (56.5%)	1 (0.5%)	91 (42.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	31.9	1059^th of 1492 public elementary schools	29.0%		28.5	1110^th of 1490 public elementary schools	25.5%	51					45.2	52.8	70.8				32.3	52.8	50.0				50.0		$13,995	$1,835	$12,160
Riverside Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	8020 US 19E Hwy South	Newland	28657	Avery County	Avery County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 737-5600	98	7	14.3	96.9%	89 (90.8%)	3 (3.1%)	5 (5.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.0%)	51.9	692^nd of 1492 public elementary schools	53.6%		25.1	1180^th of 1490 public elementary schools	20.8%	488					85.7	75.0	50.0				64.3	50.0	40.0				40.0		$12,645	$1,329	$11,316
Cranberry Middle	Public	6-8	6230 North US Highway 19E	Elk Park	28622	Avery County	Avery County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 733-2932	202	18	11.3	96.0%	185 (91.6%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (6.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.5%)	76.4	163^rd of 778 public middle schools	79.0%		67.4	227^th of 773 public middle schools	70.6%	64								91.3	83.6	63.5				56.5	68.9	65.1		73.0	$11,973	$1,132	$10,841
Freedom Trail Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	6110 North US Hwy 19E	Elk Park	28622	Avery County	Avery County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 733-2932	202	15	13.0	94.1%	178 (88.1%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (8.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (3.0%)	61.4	557^th of 1492 public elementary schools	62.7%		64	500^th of 1490 public elementary schools	66.4%	57					84.4	74.1	68.8				68.8	48.1	43.8				50.0		$12,077	$1,306	$10,771
Valle Crucis Elementary	Public	PK, KG-8	2736 Broadstone Road	Banner Elk	28604	Avery County	Watauga County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 263-1821	345	27	12.5	40.3%	285 (82.6%)	4 (1.2%)	48 (13.9%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	6 (1.7%)	68.5	450^th of 1492 public elementary schools	69.8%		66.4	462^nd of 1490 public elementary schools	69.0%	12					76.7	60.4	71.0	73.2	73.2	65.9	50.0	56.3	71.0	78.0	65.9	68.2	74.2	79.5	$10,351	$520	$9,831

SchoolDigger rankings lists for North Carolina:

Elementary Schools Middle Schools High Schools Districts 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.