NCES CCD 2024-25 22 schools NC

Best-Resourced Schools in Chapel Hill, NC

Compiled from official source data by .

22 public K-12 schools in Chapel Hill from NCES Common Core of Data: enrollment, grade span, demographics, and Civil Rights Data Collection statistics for every active campus.

PlainSchools home → About this data
22
Schools
12,359
Students
50.8/100
Avg Resource Index
12.3:1
Avg Student-Teacher Ratio

National city placement

Broad resource and staffing advantage

According to NCES CCD 2024-25, Chapel Hill has more public-school enrollment than 85% of the 4,487 US cities in this directory. Chapel Hill lands in the upper national tier on both the average Resource Investment Index and teacher staffing intensity. Those measures come from different inputs: the index combines reported counselors, gifted access, attendance, and staffing, while the staffing percentile compares the city's student-teacher ratio directly. Agreement across both measures is stronger evidence of broad reported capacity than either score alone, though neither is a test-score rating or a guarantee about an individual classroom.

Combined-grade campuses shape the local portfolio

12 of Chapel Hill's 22 listed schools use NCES's combined or “other” grade-level classification. Citywide averages therefore blend campuses serving unusually broad or nonstandard grade spans with conventional elementary, middle, and high schools. Grade configuration is a first-order comparison here, not a minor label.

Campus spread matters more than the city mean

The 26-point gap between Phoenix Academy High and Margaret B. Pollard Middle shows the range hidden by Chapel Hill's average Resource Investment Index. The city figure is useful for national placement, but families ultimately choose among campuses with different grade spans, enrollment, district affiliations, and reported support fields. Start with schools serving the relevant grade level, then compare the index components rather than assuming the city average describes any one classroom.

City enrollment
Top 15%
School count
Top 13%
Resource Index average
89th percentile
Teacher staffing
86th percentile

Chapel Hill school enrollment varies 60× across entities

Chapel Hill school enrollment ranges from 27 students (lowest) to 1,608 students (highest), a spread of 1,581 students. That ratio is among the widest observed and reflects extreme heterogeneity inside a single city, with small specialty programs listed alongside large comprehensive campuses. Per-school staffing and program breadth can differ sharply at opposite ends of that enrollment range, so the city average should not be treated as a typical campus.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Chapel Hill student-teacher ratio is 12.3:1 — low (typically associated with smaller schools or per-school staffing investment that often correlates with stronger per-student supports)

student-teacher ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE classroom teachers against total enrollment, push-in specialists, English-language aides, special-education co-teachers, and counselors are not included in most reporting Lower values often correlate with smaller scale and population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data, Public School Universe

# School Score
1. Phoenix Academy High 64
2. Phillips Middle 60
3. Smith Middle 59
4. Culbreth Middle 59
5. Estes Hills Elementary 58
6. Mcdougle Middle 56
7. Morris Grove Elementary 56
8. New Hope Elementary 55
9. Glenwood Elementary 53
10. Scroggs Elementary 52
11. Seawell Elementary 51
12. Ephesus Elementary 51
13. Northside Elementary 49
14. Chapel Hill High 47
15. Mcdougle Elementary 47
16. East Chapel Hill High 44
17. North Chatham Elementary 44
18. Rashkis Elementary 44
19. Fpg Elementary 40
20. Woods Charter 39
21. Margaret B. Pollard Middle 38
22. Virtual Academy School -

Most racially and ethnically mixed schools in Chapel Hill

Ranked by the Simpson student-body diversity index (0-100) from NCES race and ethnicity data, where higher means a more evenly mixed student body. It measures mix, not quality.

  1. 1 Rashkis Elementary 76.9/100
  2. 2 Seawell Elementary 73.9/100
  3. 3 Phoenix Academy High 73.0/100
  4. 4 Smith Middle 72.9/100
  5. 5 Northside Elementary 72.1/100

What do families ask about schools in Chapel Hill?

Which Chapel Hill school has the highest Resource Investment Index? ▼

Phoenix Academy High has the highest Resource Investment Index among the Chapel Hill schools in this federal-data comparison at 64/100. The index summarizes reported staffing, counseling, gifted-program, and attendance inputs; it is not an academic rating.

How many schools are in Chapel Hill, NC? ▼

Chapel Hill has 22 public schools with a total enrollment of 12,359 students. 1 are charter schools. Average student-teacher ratio: 12.3:1.

Other Cities in North Carolina

Charlotte
176 schools
Raleigh
99 schools
Greensboro
83 schools
Durham
68 schools
Fayetteville
68 schools
Winston Salem
64 schools

Side-by-side: Compare any two schools or districts in North Carolina →

Data from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 and Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22. The Resource Investment Index uses reported student-teacher ratio, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance; it is not an academic rating. Cities must include at least five schools to be listed. This public-data comparison is for informational purposes: verify current enrollment, attendance boundaries, and programs with the school district before acting. See the guide to understanding NCES data.