Silsa

Silsa is a small public high school in Asheville, NC, serving 332 students in grades 9–12 as part of Asheville City Schools. It shares a campus at 419 McDowell Street with the much larger Asheville High, which enrolls about 1,200 students. The district ranks in the 67th percentile statewide, and Silsa ranks 204th out of 662 North Carolina high schools — a solid upper-middle-tier standing with a 3-star rating.

Academically, Silsa outperforms both its district and the state in every End-of-Course subject. English II is a signature strength at 86.2% proficiency versus 64.6% statewide, and the school also posts strong results in Biology (69.4%), Math III (76.7%), and Math I (47.5%) — a subject where the Asheville City district as a whole trails the state average. These results are especially striking next door: Silsa beats Asheville High by wide margins in every subject, including an 18-point gap in Math I. It also ranks above most nearby traditional high schools, including Roberson High, Reynolds High, Enka High, Erwin High, and The Franklin School of Innovation. Only selective-style programs like Nesbitt Discovery Academy and Early College rank clearly above it. The graduation rate is a strong 94.9%.

The biggest concerns are chronic absenteeism and uneven subgroup results. In 2024–2025, 26.0% of Silsa students were chronically absent, above the state rate of 24.2% and far higher than nearby Reynolds High at 13.1%. Gifted and Talented students ranked in only the 22nd percentile in 2025–2026 — a notable weak spot for a school with otherwise strong overall scores. Silsa's state ranking has also slipped from a top-50, 5-star school in the mid-2010s to its current 3-star level. Still, among open-enrollment high schools in the Asheville area, Silsa remains one of the strongest and most efficient academic options.