Central Haywood High

Central Haywood High is a small alternative-style public high school in Waynesville, NC, serving roughly 63 students in grades 9–12 within the Haywood County Schools district. It is one of four public high school options in the county, alongside the much larger comprehensive schools Pisgah High and Tuscola High, and the highly selective Haywood Early College.

The school serves an exceptionally high-need population: about 94% of students qualify for free/reduced-price lunch, and chronic absenteeism — while improving from a staggering 88.8% in 2021–22 — still affects nearly 60% of students. Academically, proficiency rates on state End-of-Course exams are far below district and state averages. For example, only 5.9% of students scored proficient on the English II exam in 2025–26, versus 74.3% district-wide and 64.6% statewide. The graduation rate has held steady near two-thirds (68.1%) for five years, roughly 22 points below the district average of 91.1%. These challenges are typical of an alternative/credit-recovery setting; the closest comparison is Jackson Community School, a similarly small regional alternative school with comparable poverty, attendance, and achievement levels.

What makes Central Haywood's results especially striking is the contrast with Haywood Early College, located just 4.6 miles away. Early College serves a student body with even higher poverty (98.3%), yet posts near-perfect test scores, a 99th-percentile state rank, and a 14% chronic absenteeism rate. The difference likely comes down to student selection and readiness, not economics. Central Haywood spends about $18,725 per student — roughly double what Pisgah High and Tuscola High spend — and maintains an 8.5:1 student-teacher ratio. Even with these resources, academic and graduation outcomes have not meaningfully improved over a decade, suggesting that students here need far more intensive, non-academic support than standard proficiency metrics capture.