Manteo High School

Manteo High School is a traditional public high school in the coastal town of Manteo, North Carolina, serving 528 students in grades 9–12 as part of Dare County Schools. A decade ago, Manteo High School sat near the top of North Carolina's high school rankings, earning five stars and placing in the 93rd–94th percentile in 2016–17 and 2017–18. Since roughly 2020–21, however, the school has settled into the 57th–68th percentile range as a consistent three-star school, currently ranking 282nd out of 662 high schools statewide.

The school's most significant challenge is chronic absenteeism. In 2024–25, 51% of students were chronically absent—about double the state rate (24.2%) and well above the district's 32.3%. That likely helps explain the test-score picture: Manteo students who reach Math III perform well, with 82.9% proficient in 2025–26 versus 68.9% statewide. Yet only 39.1% of Math I students were proficient, far below the district rate of 65.1%. Biology proficiency has also declined steadily, hitting 54.7% in 2025–26, below both the district (69.6%) and state (58.5%). English II, at 71.1% proficient, remains above the state average.

Despite these struggles, Manteo graduates students at a strong rate: 94.4% in 2025–26, well above the state's 88.8%. The most useful comparison is First Flight High School, the district's other traditional high school in Kill Devil Hills, which ranks in the 81st percentile and posts substantially higher Biology and Math I scores. Manteo actually matches or slightly beats First Flight on Math III, and it outperforms the alternative Dare Learning Academy by a wide margin on graduation. Manteo also serves a student body with a higher share of economically disadvantaged students (40.3% free/reduced lunch vs. 27.2% at First Flight). The school's history demonstrates it is capable of much higher statewide standing, but addressing attendance and early math support will likely be essential to reversing the downward trend.