27 public K-12 schools in Charleston 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, Charleston has more public-school enrollment than 84% of the 4,487 US cities in this directory. 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.
18 of Charleston's 27 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 Chandler Academy and Andrew Jackson Middle School shows the range hidden by Charleston'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.
Charleston school enrollment ranges from 134 students (lowest) to 1,654 students (highest), a spread of 1,520 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
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 Charleston is typically wider than the Charleston-aggregate figure suggests.
| # | School | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Chandler Academy | 58 |
| 2. | Ruthlawn Elementary School | 57 |
| 3. | Sissonville High School | 54 |
| 4. | Kenna Elementary School | 54 |
| 5. | Holz Elementary School | 52 |
| 6. | Shoals Elementary School | 52 |
| 7. | Kanawha City Elementary School | 51 |
| 8. | Piedmont Year-Round Education | 50 |
| 9. | Chamberlain Elementary School | 48 |
| 10. | Ruffner Elementary School | 47 |
| 11. | Elk Elementary Center | 46 |
| 12. | Flinn Elementary School | 46 |
| 13. | Cross Lanes Elementary School | 45 |
| 14. | Overbrook Elementary School | 42 |
| 15. | Mary Ingles Elementary School | 42 |
| 16. | John Adams Middle School | 41 |
| 17. | George Washington High School | 40 |
| 18. | Capital High School | 38 |
| 19. | Horace Mann Middle School | 37 |
| 20. | Malden Elementary School | 37 |
| 21. | Sissonville Middle School | 36 |
| 22. | Edgewood Elementary | 36 |
| 23. | Grandview Elementary School | 36 |
| 24. | West Side Middle School | 32 |
| 25. | Mary C. Snow West Side Elementary | 29 |
| 26. | Andrew Jackson Middle School | 26 |
| 27. | West Virginia Virtual Academy | - |
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.
Chandler Academy has the highest Resource Investment Index among the Charleston schools in this federal-data comparison at 58/100. The index summarizes reported staffing, counseling, gifted-program, and attendance inputs; it is not an academic rating.
Charleston has 27 public schools with a total enrollment of 11,888 students. 1 are charter schools. Average student-teacher ratio: 16.3:1.
Side-by-side: Compare any two schools or districts in West Virginia →
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.
