25 public K-12 schools in Gastonia from NCES Common Core of Data: enrollment, grade span, demographics, and Civil Rights Data Collection statistics for every active campus.
National city placement
According to NCES CCD 2024-25, Gastonia has more public-school enrollment than 90% of the 4,487 US cities in this directory. Gastonia sits in the broad middle of the national city distribution rather than at a single obvious extreme. Its scale, average Resource Investment Index, and staffing position need to be read together: a middle placement on one measure does not cancel a stronger or weaker result on another. The percentile panel makes those dimensions explicit, and the school table shows where the city aggregate breaks into materially different campus profiles.
15 of Gastonia's 25 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.
The 32-point gap between Highland Sch of Technology and Hunter Huss High shows the range hidden by Gastonia'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.
Gastonia school enrollment ranges from 163 students (lowest) to 1,963 students (highest), a spread of 1,800 students. That spread reflects typical urban portfolio variation between specialty programs and large neighbourhood schools. 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
The reported share is at least 75%, indicating a high concentration of measured economic need. Title I operates under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015), but its statutory allocation uses additional LEA-level counts and rules not represented by this average. This percentage is an economic-need context measure; it does not establish a Title I award, show dollars received, or describe how funds are distributed among campuses.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
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 Variation between sub-units within Gastonia is typically wider than the Gastonia-aggregate figure suggests.
| # | School | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Highland Sch of Technology | 56 |
| 2. | Hawks Nest Steam Academy | 54 |
| 3. | Gaston Virtual Academy | 54 |
| 4. | Warlick Academy | 51 |
| 5. | Gardner Park Elementary | 50 |
| 6. | Webb Street School | 47 |
| 7. | Robinson Elementary | 46 |
| 8. | New Hope Elementary | 44 |
| 9. | York Chester Middle | 43 |
| 10. | Pleasant Ridge Elementary | 41 |
| 11. | W a Bess Elementary School | 38 |
| 12. | W P Grier Middle School | 38 |
| 13. | Chapel Grove Elementary | 38 |
| 14. | Southwest Middle | 37 |
| 15. | Brookside Elementary | 37 |
| 16. | Piedmont Community Charter School | 35 |
| 17. | H H Beam Elementary | 35 |
| 18. | Woodhill Elementary | 34 |
| 19. | Edward D Sadler Jr Elementary School | 34 |
| 20. | Ridgeview Charter School | 33 |
| 21. | Forestview High | 31 |
| 22. | Sherwood Elementary | 27 |
| 23. | Lingerfeldt Elementary | 27 |
| 24. | Ashbrook High | 26 |
| 25. | Hunter Huss High | 24 |
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.
Highland Sch of Technology has the highest Resource Investment Index among the Gastonia schools in this federal-data comparison at 56/100. The index summarizes reported staffing, counseling, gifted-program, and attendance inputs; it is not an academic rating.
Gastonia has 25 public schools with a total enrollment of 15,856 students. 2 are charter schools. Average student-teacher ratio: 16.7:1.
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.
