High Schools in Dare County Schools

Located on North Carolina's Outer Banks, Dare County Schools operates four high-school programs — First Flight High School, Manteo High School, Cape Hatteras Secondary School, and Dare Learning Academy — serving grades 9–12 (Cape Hatteras also encompasses grades 6–8) and enrolling about 1,805 students. Sizes and missions differ sharply: First Flight High School enrolls 874 students, Manteo High School 528, Cape Hatteras Secondary School 364 including middle schoolers, and Dare Learning Academy just 39 students as an at-risk alternative program. Poverty also spans a wide range, from First Flight High School's 27.2% free/reduced-price lunch eligibility to Manteo High School's 40.3%, Dare Learning Academy's 92.3%, and Cape Hatteras Secondary School's 99.2%.

First Flight High School is the district's standout, earning four stars three years in a row and posting the district's top 2025–2026 End-of-Course scores in Biology (86%), English II (84.4%), and Math III (86.8%). Cape Hatteras Secondary School is the most-improved school: it climbed from the 32nd to 57th percentile over two years and posted a remarkable Math I jump from 30.8% to 68.2% proficiency while serving a nearly 100% poverty population. Manteo High School is the biggest concern — its ranking slipped from the 74th to 57th percentile, 51% of students are chronically absent, and Math I proficiency (39.1%) is below the state average. Dare Learning Academy has the lowest scores and a 78.8% graduation rate, but as a 39-student at-risk alternative school, it serves a fundamentally different population than the traditional campuses.

Chronic absenteeism is the district-wide red flag, with every school exceeding the state's 24.2% rate: First Flight High School 33.8%, Dare Learning Academy 34.9%, Cape Hatteras Secondary School 44.2%, and Manteo High School 51.0%. Poverty tracks with lower scores, yet Cape Hatteras Secondary School proves high-poverty students can still make major gains — it spends $16,457 per student versus First Flight High School's $10,945. Manteo High School's strong 94.4% graduation rate masks weak math preparation, suggesting students may graduate without college-ready math skills. Overall, Dare County Schools has a four-star flagship in First Flight High School, a genuine turnaround in Cape Hatteras Secondary School, and urgent work ahead on attendance and math at Manteo High School.