NCES CCD 2024-25 30 schools SC

Best-Resourced Schools in North Charleston, SC

Compiled from official source data by .

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

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30
Schools
19,724
Students
42.6/100
Avg Resource Index
12.9:1
Avg Student-Teacher Ratio

National city placement

Middle-of-corpus city profile

According to NCES CCD 2024-25, North Charleston has more public-school enrollment than 92% of the 4,487 US cities in this directory. North Charleston 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.

Combined-grade campuses shape the local portfolio

18 of North Charleston's 30 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.

Economic need crosses separate district systems

82.7% of enrollment in reporting North Charleston schools is eligible for free lunch, while the city list spans 3 districts. That pairing makes a citywide average especially easy to misread: the need measure follows students, but staffing decisions, calendars, program rules, and federal allocations are administered through separate district structures. The 33-point gap between Military Magnet Academy and Fort Dorchester High shows how much reported resource capacity can vary inside the same municipal label. Compare schools within the same district first, then use the city view to see how those local systems differ.

City enrollment
Top 8%
School count
Top 8%
Resource Index average
59th percentile
Teacher staffing
80th percentile

North Charleston school enrollment varies 33× across entities

North Charleston school enrollment ranges from 71 students (lowest) to 2,344 students (highest), a spread of 2,273 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

North Charleston reports 82.7% free-lunch eligibility

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

North Charleston student-teacher ratio is 12.9:1 — 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

3 of North Charleston's 30 listed schools are charters

10% of the city's listed public-school campuses are reported as charter schools in NCES CCD. Charter status identifies a different governance arrangement; it does not establish admissions availability, academic quality, or the share of city students enrolled in those campuses. Open each school record to compare enrollment and staffing directly.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data

# School Score
1. Military Magnet Academy 62
2. Palmetto Scholars Academy 57
3. Charleston School of the Arts 54
4. Allegro Charter School of Music 53
5. Mary Ford Early Childhood Learning and Family Center 50
6. W. B. Goodwin Elementary 49
7. Eagle Nest Elementary 47
8. Academic Magnet High 46
9. Windsor Hill Arts Infused Elementary 45
10. Jerry Zucker Middle School of Science 45
11. Deer Park Middle 45
12. North Charleston High 44
13. North Charleston Elementary 44
14. Rb Stall High 43
15. River Oaks Middle 43
16. Morningside Middle 43
17. Chicora Elementary 42
18. Greg Mathis Charter High 42
19. Meeting Street Elementary 41
20. Northwoods Middle 41
21. Midland Park Primary 41
22. Malcolm C. Hursey Montessori 38
23. North Charleston Creative Arts Elementary 37
24. Pinehurst Elementary 36
25. Hunley Park Elementary 35
26. Lambs Elementary 34
27. Pepperhill Elementary 33
28. A. C. Corcoran Elementary 30
29. Fort Dorchester High 29
30. Matilda F. Dunston Elementary 29

Most racially and ethnically mixed schools in North Charleston

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 Eagle Nest Elementary 73.9/100
  2. 2 River Oaks Middle 70.6/100
  3. 3 Windsor Hill Arts Infused Elementary 70.5/100
  4. 4 Fort Dorchester High 70.4/100
  5. 5 Lambs Elementary 69.5/100

What do families ask about schools in North Charleston?

Which North Charleston school has the highest Resource Investment Index? ▼

Military Magnet Academy has the highest Resource Investment Index among the North Charleston schools in this federal-data comparison at 62/100. The index summarizes reported staffing, counseling, gifted-program, and attendance inputs; it is not an academic rating.

How many schools are in North Charleston, SC? ▼

North Charleston has 30 public schools with a total enrollment of 19,724 students. 3 are charter schools. Average student-teacher ratio: 12.9:1.

Other Cities in South Carolina

Columbia
75 schools
Greenville
51 schools
Charleston
32 schools
Spartanburg
29 schools
Rock Hill
27 schools
Summerville
26 schools

Side-by-side: Compare any two schools or districts in South 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.