High Schools in Lynchburg City Public Schools

Lynchburg City Public Schools serves two high schools, E.C. Glass High and Heritage High, both spanning grades 9–12 in a district that ranks 126th out of 131 Virginia districts. The two schools face remarkably similar circumstances: both serve student populations with nearly 95% free/reduced-price lunch eligibility, and both have chronic absenteeism rates around 34% — more than double the Virginia statewide average of 14.8%. Both schools also rank in the bottom 11% of Virginia high schools, with E.C. Glass at 294th of 331 and Heritage at 298th of 331.

Heritage High stands out for better completion outcomes despite nearly identical poverty and attendance challenges. Heritage graduates 84.2% of its students — beating the district average of 81.5% — and has a dropout rate of just 4.6%, actually better than the Virginia state average of 5.0%. E.C. Glass High, by contrast, graduates 79.2% and has a dropout rate of 9.1%, nearly twice the state rate. Interestingly, E.C. Glass spends more per student ($10,522 vs. $9,859) and has smaller classes (13.5:1 vs. 15.4:1), yet trails Heritage on graduation and dropout metrics. Academically, both schools show a split personality: they outperform the state in social studies, with Geography proficiency reaching 91.7% at E.C. Glass and 87.5% at Heritage, but struggle badly in 10th-grade math and science.

Several findings deserve attention. First, both schools show a sharp 9th-to-10th-grade performance drop — E.C. Glass 9th graders score 90% proficient in Geometry, but 10th graders score just 27.3%. Second, both schools posted strong 12th-grade results, suggesting students who persist to upper grades perform well. Third, Heritage's 11th-grade Writing proficiency was just 23.8% in 2024–25, roughly 56 points below the state. Finally, both schools' state rankings declined sharply in 2025–26, with E.C. Glass falling from the 28th to 11th percentile. For parents, Heritage appears to be the stronger choice for keeping students on track to graduation, while both schools share similar core academic challenges.