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Best Public Schools in Swain County, NC

At a glance

Schools

3,393

Students

Districts

Top rankedMountain Discovery861^st of 1,492 North Carolina elementary schools

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Biggest riser

Swain County Middle School up 55 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Cherokee Central Elementary School 6.4 students per teacher

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Newly ranked this year

Swain Academy

SchoolDigger ratings

2★

1★

0★

3 schools 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/reduced lunch (2024-25)	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
Mountain Discovery	Public, Charter	K-8	890 Jenkins Branch Rd N	Bryson City	28713	Swain County	Mountain Discovery Charter School	Yes	No	No	Yes	(828) 488-1222	221	14	16.2	—	174 (78.7%)	4 (1.8%)	3 (1.4%)	3 (1.4%)	17 (7.7%)	1 (0.5%)	19 (8.6%)	42.8	861^st of 1492 public elementary schools	42.3%		43.5	860^th of 1490 public elementary schools	42.3%	1					38.7	68.2	36.4	47.4	61.9	46.7	61.3	72.7	59.1	50.0	71.4	86.7	50.0	100.0
Swain County High School	Public	9-12	1415 Fontana Road	Bryson City	28713	Swain County	Swain County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 488-2152	536	28	19.3	—	361 (67.4%)	2 (0.4%)	35 (6.5%)	3 (0.6%)	97 (18.1%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (7.1%)	39.1	408^th of 662 public high schools	38.4%		30.3	442^nd of 641 public high schools	31.0%	34	51.1	62.9	20.5	70.5															$12,889	$1,251	$11,638
Cherokee Extension School	Public, Alternative	K-12	50 Main Street	Bryson City	28713	Swain County	Swain County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 488-3129	110	0		2.7%	75 (68.2%)	3 (2.7%)	16 (14.5%)	1 (0.9%)	5 (4.5%)	1 (0.9%)	9 (8.2%)								(n/a)																			$6,438	$455	$5,983
Swain County Middle School	Public	6-8	135 Arlington Ave	Bryson City	28713	Swain County	Swain County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 488-3480	453	27	16.5	—	278 (61.4%)	2 (0.4%)	32 (7.1%)	2 (0.4%)	88 (19.4%)	0 (0.0%)	51 (11.3%)	42.5	458^th of 778 public middle schools	41.1%		34.4	513^th of 773 public middle schools	33.6%	55								48.7	55.8	44.4				51.3	54.6	48.0		64.5	$12,023	$1,993	$10,030
Swain County East Elementary	Public	K-5	4747 Ela Rd	Bryson City	28713	Swain County	Swain County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 488-0939	338	20	16.4	—	160 (47.3%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (8.6%)	3 (0.9%)	88 (26.0%)	0 (0.0%)	58 (17.2%)	20	1275^th of 1492 public elementary schools	14.5%		22.7	1226^th of 1490 public elementary schools	17.7%	49					51.9	36.2	43.5				47.3	42.6	28.3				56.5		$12,145	$1,906	$10,238
Swain County West Elementary	Public	K-5	4142 Hwy 19 West	Bryson City	28713	Swain County	Swain County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 488-2119	403	26	15.7	—	293 (72.7%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (6.5%)	5 (1.2%)	32 (7.9%)	0 (0.0%)	47 (11.7%)	27.4	1153^rd of 1492 public elementary schools	22.7%		40.9	902^nd of 1490 public elementary schools	39.5%	251					45.5	62.3	47.6				33.3	62.3	33.3				54.8		$10,938	$1,448	$9,491
Swain Academy	Public	9-12	1417 Fontana Rd	Bryson City	28713	Swain County	Swain County Schools	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(828) 488-3120	32	3	9.7	84.4%	17 (53.1%)	2 (6.3%)	2 (6.3%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (25.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (9.4%)	2.2	648^th of 662 public high schools	2.1%					(n/a)	15.0	13.3		540.3
Cherokee Central Elementary School	Public	K-5	130 Ravensford Drive	Cherokee	28719	Swain County	Cherokee Central Elementary School	(n/a)	No	No	Yes	(828) 554-5020	607	94	6.4	—	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	607 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)
Cherokee Central High School	Public	6-12	200 Ravensford Drive	Cherokee	28719	Swain County	Cherokee Central High School	(n/a)	No	No	Yes	(828) 554-5030	693	91	7.6	—	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	693 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)

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.