Hiwassee Dam High

Hiwassee Dam High is a small public high school in Murphy, NC, serving 137 students in grades 9–12 through Cherokee County Schools. Located roughly 12–15 miles from the county’s other high schools, this rural school has a student body where 97.8% of students come from low-income families. Hiwassee Dam High currently ranks in the 33rd percentile statewide with a 2-star rating—better than The Oaks Academy, but below Tri-County Early College High and Murphy High. After being a 4-star school in the mid-2010s, its rating dipped sharply but has now stabilized in recent years.

Despite the challenges of high poverty, Hiwassee Dam stands out in several important areas. Its graduation rate of 92.7% exceeds the state average of 88.8% and is far above The Oaks Academy’s 76.9%. It also has the best attendance record in the local area, with 26.2% of students chronically absent compared with 43.2% at Tri-County Early College, 47.3% at Murphy High, and 77.7% at The Oaks Academy. In math, Hiwassee Dam posts genuinely competitive results: its Math I proficiency rate of 48.3% beats both the district and state averages, slightly exceeds Murphy High’s 45.7%, and nearly matches Tri-County Early College’s 50.0%. The school also serves its low-income students better than most North Carolina high schools serve theirs, ranking at the 55th percentile for that group.

Still, academic performance overall remains uneven. English II and Biology proficiency are typically below district and state averages, and scores swing sharply from year to year because each tested cohort is so small. For example, English II jumped to 70% in 2024–25 but fell back to 55% the following year. Math III, meanwhile, soared from 29.7% to 63.2% in a single year—a huge gain that should be viewed cautiously given the small number of students tested. Per-student spending does not explain these results: Tri-County spends the least but performs the strongest, while The Oaks Academy spends the most and struggles the most. Overall, Hiwassee Dam looks like a school that has stabilized, with strong graduation rates, improving attendance, and promising math results to build on.