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Best Public Schools in Jackson County, NC

New rankings! SchoolDigger recently updated its North Carolina rankings with newly released test scores for the 2025-26 school year.

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At a glance

Schools

3,823

Students

Districts

Top rankedJackson County Early College95^th of 662 North Carolina high schools

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Biggest riser

Cullowhee Valley School up 83 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Summit Charter 13.7 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

4★

2★

1★

0★

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
Summit Charter	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	370 Mitten Lane	Cashiers	28717	Jackson County	Summit Charter	Yes	No	No	Yes	(828) 743-5755	315	23	13.7		234 (74.3%)	1 (0.3%)	65 (20.6%)	1 (0.3%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (3.8%)								(n/a)	61.3	70.0	73.3	83.3	76.9	80.0	76.5	55.9	70.6	65.5	69.2	70.0	82.4	61.8	79.4	75.9	70.6	79.3
Catamount School	Public	6-8	1 University Drive Reid 100	Cullowhee	28723	Jackson County	Catamount School	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 227-7500	64	6	10.1	37.5%	53 (82.8%)	1 (1.6%)	1 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (7.8%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (6.3%)	66.7	231^st of 778 public middle schools	70.3%		67	232^nd of 773 public middle schools	70.0%	1								64.0	61.9	60.0				48.0	61.9	76.0		80.0
Blue Ridge School	Public	PK, KG-6	95 Bobcat Drive	Cashiers	28717	Jackson County	Jackson County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 743-2646	144	10	14.5	90.3%	78 (54.2%)	2 (1.4%)	58 (40.3%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (2.1%)	20.4	1274^th of 1492 public elementary schools	14.6%		47	801^st of 1490 public elementary schools	46.2%	473					36.4	50.0		53.8			27.3	38.9		38.5					$13,938	$1,846	$12,092
Cullowhee Valley School	Public	PK, KG-8	240 Wisdom Drive	Cullowhee	28723	Jackson County	Jackson County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 293-5667	570	35	16.3	99.5%	341 (59.8%)	5 (0.9%)	171 (30.0%)	3 (0.5%)	22 (3.9%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (4.9%)	30.2	1089^th of 1492 public elementary schools	27.0%		25.4	1172^nd of 1490 public elementary schools	21.3%	83					52.9	50.7	59.2	35.6	45.7	27.3	39.7	57.7	46.5	33.3	47.2	45.5	54.9	52.7	$10,392	$1,261	$9,131
Fairview School	Public	PK, KG-8	251 Big Orange Way	Sylva	28779	Jackson County	Jackson County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 586-2819	797	48	16.5	98.0%	550 (69.0%)	11 (1.4%)	144 (18.1%)	10 (1.3%)	32 (4.0%)	0 (0.0%)	50 (6.3%)	36.2	977^th of 1492 public elementary schools	34.5%		49.6	749^th of 1490 public elementary schools	49.7%	228					62.5	43.6	63.5	55.2	62.3	80.2	55.6	41.5	42.7	47.9	64.9	65.1	57.3	83.7	$8,533	$860	$7,673
Scotts Creek School	Public	PK, KG-8	516 Parris Branch	Sylva	28779	Jackson County	Jackson County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 631-2740	422	29	14.6	98.6%	290 (68.7%)	9 (2.1%)	75 (17.8%)	6 (1.4%)	12 (2.8%)	0 (0.0%)	30 (7.1%)	22.3	1240^th of 1492 public elementary schools	16.9%		32.3	1051^st of 1490 public elementary schools	29.5%	189					44.2	35.7	38.1	51.3	39.0	40.5	37.2	44.6	35.7	51.3	46.3	43.2	61.9	83.8	$9,973	$1,203	$8,770
Smoky Mountain High School	Public	9-12	100 Smoky Mountain Drive	Sylva	28779	Jackson County	Jackson County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 586-2177	881	42	21.1	97.7%	585 (66.4%)	8 (0.9%)	185 (21.0%)	6 (0.7%)	49 (5.6%)	1 (0.1%)	47 (5.3%)	44.7	370^th of 662 public high schools	44.1%		47.2	327^th of 641 public high schools	49.0%	43	55.9	55.6	37.2	77.7															$11,017	$880	$10,137
Smokey Mountain Elementary	Public	PK, KG-8	884 US Hwy 441N	Whittier	28789	Jackson County	Jackson County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 497-5535	340	22	15.7	96.2%	125 (36.8%)	3 (0.9%)	53 (15.6%)	5 (1.5%)	111 (32.6%)	0 (0.0%)	43 (12.6%)	5.5	1460^th of 1492 public elementary schools	2.1%		9.1	1434^th of 1490 public elementary schools	3.8%	26					27.6	31.0	17.5	28.6	20.9	11.4	27.6	24.1	27.5	42.9	34.9	31.4	22.5	42.9	$11,755	$1,735	$10,021
Jackson Community School	Public	9-12	3770 Skyland Drive	Sylva	28779	Jackson County	Jackson County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 586-4328	50	4	14.0	88.0%	38 (76.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (14.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (4.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (6.0%)	1.9	652^nd of 662 public high schools	1.5%		4.1	625^th of 641 public high schools	2.5%	27	13.6	14.3	539.3																$26,010	$1,858	$24,152
Blue Ridge Early College	Public	7-12	95 Bobcat Dr	Cashiers	28717	Jackson County	Jackson County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 743-2646	127	8	16.3	97.6%	59 (46.5%)	0 (0.0%)	65 (51.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (2.4%)	40.2	403^rd of 662 public high schools	39.1%		27.4	477^th of 641 public high schools	25.6%	74	35.7	23.5	48.0	85.0					60.0	36.4					50.0	36.4		45.5	$11,670	$875	$10,794
Jackson County Early College	Public	9-12	404 College Drive	Sylva	28779	Jackson County	Jackson County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 339-4499	113	2	47.0	97.3%	74 (65.5%)	2 (1.8%)	18 (15.9%)	4 (3.5%)	6 (5.3%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (8.0%)	87.5	95^th of 662 public high schools	85.6%		80.7	133^rd of 641 public high schools	79.3%	38	93.8	87.1	100.0	88.6															$7,254	$111	$7,144

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.