Summary:
Derry, New Hampshire, has eight schools serving students in grades K–12, including four elementary schools, two middle-grade schools, and two high schools, with about 5,948 students across the area. Most schools belong to the Derry Cooperative School District, while Pinkerton Academy and Next Charter School have separate district designations. The schools offer a traditional progression from grades K–4, through grades 5–6 at West Running Brook Intermediate School, grades 7–8 at Gilbert H. Hood Middle School, and grades 9–12.
Pinkerton Academy is the strongest overall high-school option in the data. It has a 90.4% graduation rate, a 1.7% dropout rate, and reading proficiency of 64%, all favorable compared with New Hampshire results. Its mathematics and science proficiency rates are lower, at 29% and 27%, so families may want to look closely at academic support in those subjects. Among elementary schools, South Range Elementary School leads in mathematics at 52%, followed by Ernest P. Barka Elementary School at 48%. East Derry Memorial Elementary School has the best elementary reading result at 46%, while Grinnell School has the lowest elementary scores overall.
The broadest concern across the Derry Cooperative School District is reading: every elementary and middle school trails the statewide reading rate. Mathematics is comparatively stronger in elementary grades but drops substantially at the middle and high-school levels. West Running Brook Intermediate School stands out for science, with 42% proficiency, above the state result. Recent declines at East Derry Memorial Elementary School and Gilbert H. Hood Middle School merit attention. Next Charter School is very small and reports a 69.2% graduation rate and 7.6% dropout rate, making its results notably weaker than Pinkerton Academy, though small enrollment can make percentages fluctuate.
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