Nicholas County Schools

Summary:

The Nicholas County Schools district in West Virginia consists of 13 schools, including 9 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, and 2 high schools. The district as a whole is ranked 25 out of 55 school districts in the state and is rated 3 stars out of 5 by SchoolDigger.

Within the district, a few schools stand out as high-performing. MT Lookout Elementary School consistently ranks among the top elementary schools in the state, with a 5-star rating from SchoolDigger and exceptional test scores, with 75% or more of students proficient in math and English language arts. Similarly, MT Nebo Elementary School ranks 3rd out of 355 elementary schools in West Virginia and has impressive math and English language arts proficiency rates, often exceeding 80%. Another top-performing school is Panther Creek Elementary School, which ranks in the top 100 elementary schools in the state and consistently earns a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger.

However, the district as a whole struggles with math proficiency, with only 13.3% of 11th-grade students proficient in 2024-2025, compared to the state average of 20.3%. The district performs better in English language arts, with 54.1% of 11th-grade students proficient in 2024-2025, compared to the state average of 55.1%. Additionally, the data reveals a wide range of performance among the district's elementary schools, with some schools like Zela Elementary and Gauley River Elementary struggling with significantly lower test scores and lower rankings from SchoolDigger.

District Detail

400 Old Main Dr
Summersville, WV 26651-1360

(304) 872-3611

SchoolDigger Rank:
25^th of 55 West Virginia districts

See the 2025 West Virginia District rankings!

Grades served: PK, KG-12
Students: 3,215

Primary Schools: 9
Middle Schools: 2
High Schools: 3
Alternative Schools: 0

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				WV Assessment Mathematics (2025)							WV Assessment English Language Arts (2025)							WV Assessment Science (2025)			Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	WV Assessment Mathematics 3rd Grade	WV Assessment Mathematics 4th Grade	WV Assessment Mathematics 5th Grade	WV Assessment Mathematics 6th Grade	WV Assessment Mathematics 7th Grade	WV Assessment Mathematics 8th Grade	WV Assessment Mathematics 11th Grade	WV Assessment English Language Arts 3rd Grade	WV Assessment English Language Arts 4th Grade	WV Assessment English Language Arts 5th Grade	WV Assessment English Language Arts 6th Grade	WV Assessment English Language Arts 7th Grade	WV Assessment English Language Arts 8th Grade	WV Assessment English Language Arts 11th Grade	WV Assessment Science 5th Grade	WV Assessment Science 8th Grade	WV Assessment Science 11th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Birch River Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	379 Birch River Rd	Birch River	26610	Nicholas County	Nicholas County Schools	No	No	No	No	(304) 649-2651	64	7	9.1		64 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	35.2	248^th of 355 public elementary schools	30.1%					(n/a)	36.4	45.5						36.4	54.6									$14,690	$2,923	$11,767
Glade Creek Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	7950 Webster Rd	Summersville	26651	Nicholas County	Nicholas County Schools	No	No	No	No	(304) 872-2882	124	8	15.5		119 (96.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.8%)	2 (1.6%)	2 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	67.8	91^st of 355 public elementary schools	74.4%		62.2	116^th of 368 public elementary schools	68.5%	25	65.0	47.6	85.7					45.0	28.6	85.7					64.3			$10,254	$1,081	$9,172
Panther Creek Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	10068 Canvas Nettie Road	Nettie	26681	Nicholas County	Nicholas County Schools	No	No	No	No	(304) 846-6808	211	15	14.0		207 (98.1%)	3 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	77.6	55^th of 355 public elementary schools	84.5%		75.6	67^th of 368 public elementary schools	81.8%	12	57.5	57.1	81.8					42.5	71.4	77.3					50.0			$11,775	$1,072	$10,702
Mt. Lookout Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1945 E Mount Lookout Rd	Mount Lookout	26678	Nicholas County	Nicholas County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(304) 872-2731	121	9	13.4		119 (98.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.8%)	84.7	33^rd of 355 public elementary schools	90.7%		72.9	74^th of 368 public elementary schools	79.9%	41	75.0	72.2	82.4					50.0	55.6	76.5					52.9			$11,464	$1,649	$9,814
Mt. Nebo Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	110 Schoolhouse Ln	Mount Nebo	26679	Nicholas County	Nicholas County Schools	No	No	No	No	(304) 872-2440	105	8	13.1		102 (97.1%)	1 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	97.9	3^rd of 355 public elementary schools	99.2%		98.6	3^rd of 368 public elementary schools	99.2%		80.0	95.0						73.3	90.0									$12,637	$1,467	$11,169
Nicholas County High School	Public	9-12	30 Grizzley Ln	Summersville	26651	Nicholas County	Nicholas County Schools	No	No	No	No	(304) 872-2141	708	41	17.1		688 (97.2%)	2 (0.3%)	11 (1.6%)	3 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.6%)	49.8	58^th of 111 public high schools	47.7%		41.1	65^th of 112 public high schools	42.0%	7							17.8							55.9			22.5	$11,188	$1,119	$10,070
Richwood Middle School	Public	6-8	16414 Webster Rd	Craigsville	26205	Nicholas County	Nicholas County Schools	No	No	No	No	(304) 846-2638	228	18	13.0		222 (97.4%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.9%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.3%)	21.1	144^th of 168 public middle schools	14.3%		28.5	125^th of 169 public middle schools	26.0%	19				20.5	25.0	3.8					29.5	41.7	32.5			16.3		$12,959	$1,014	$11,945
Richwood High School	Public	9-12	16414 Webster Rd	Craigsville	26205	Nicholas County	Nicholas County Schools	No	No	No	No	(304) 846-2684	299	19	15.7		291 (97.3%)	4 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	20.6	91^st of 111 public high schools	18.0%		17.8	95^th of 112 public high schools	15.2%	4							3.0							50.0			16.7	$11,975	$835	$11,140
Summersville Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	108 McKees Creek Rd	Summersville	26651	Nicholas County	Nicholas County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(304) 872-1421	331	24	13.7		314 (94.9%)	2 (0.6%)	5 (1.5%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.7%)	42.9	206^th of 355 public elementary schools	42.0%		42.1	224^th of 368 public elementary schools	39.1%	18	51.2	54.9	38.5					37.2	47.1	46.2					31.6			$11,966	$1,729	$10,237
Zela Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	165 Country Rd	Summersville	26651	Nicholas County	Nicholas County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(304) 872-1481	67	7	9.5		67 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	23.3	308^th of 355 public elementary schools	13.2%		15.8	340^th of 368 public elementary schools	7.6%	32			33.3							41.7					16.7			$15,250	$2,518	$12,732
Summersville Middle School	Public	6-8	40 Grizzley Ln	Summersville	26651	Nicholas County	Nicholas County Schools	No	No	No	No	(304) 872-5092	509	35	14.4		497 (97.6%)	6 (1.2%)	2 (0.4%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	50.4	79^th of 168 public middle schools	53.0%		26.3	134^th of 169 public middle schools	20.7%	55				36.9	22.7	29.1					53.5	36.6	38.6			36.4		$11,334	$1,126	$10,208
Cherry River Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	190 Riverside Dr	Richwood	26261	Nicholas County	Nicholas County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(304) 846-6646	152	12	12.6		146 (96.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (3.9%)	36.7	236^th of 355 public elementary schools	33.5%		28.1	289^th of 368 public elementary schools	21.5%	53	54.6	25.0	50.0					18.2	25.0	50.0					41.7			$13,801	$3,149	$10,652
Nicholas County Career and Technical Center	Public	9-12	215 Milam Addition Rd	Craigsville	26205	Nicholas County	Nicholas County Schools	No	No	No	No	(304) 742-3024	1	17	.0		1 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)
Gauley River Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	100 School St	Craigsville	26205	Nicholas County	Nicholas County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(304) 742-5271	295	20	14.7		294 (99.7%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10	342^nd of 355 public elementary schools	3.7%		33.4	266^th of 368 public elementary schools	27.7%	76	31.7	28.0	18.9					26.8	32.0	29.7					16.2			$11,712	$2,045	$9,667

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Webster County Schools	10.38 mi	4	46^th
Greenbrier County Schools	17.57 mi	14	24^th
Braxton County Schools	18.71 mi	8	30^th
Fayette County Schools	21.11 mi	11	44^th
Clay County Schools	23.2 mi	4	42^nd

See the top WV West Virginia districts

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the West Virginia Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.