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Dover, New Hampshire - 5 schools
An equity score of 26/100 ranks Dover School District #101 of 114 districts in New Hampshire (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $17,466 per pupil, Dover School District ranks #155 of 161 New Hampshire districts by per-pupil spending (New Hampshire districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
3,778
Total Enrollment
5
Schools
$17,466
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Dover School District operates 5 public schools serving 3,778 students, placing it among the smallest districts in New Hampshire. The school portfolio breaks down into 3 elementary, 1 high, 1 combined schools, a small enough portfolio that most families will interact with nearly every campus in the district at some point. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Strafford County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $17,466 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, among the bottom 17 of 161 New Hampshire districts by per-pupil spending. See how New Hampshire compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 64.7% local, 25.8% state, and 9.5% federal, a local-revenue-heavy mix that leaves the district more exposed to property-tax swings and local ballot measures than state-funded peers. The district's equity score is 26/100, ranked #101 of 114 in New Hampshire against a state average of 51, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 5 schools offering Advanced Placement (14 AP courses district-wide), a 246.7:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 36.5% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 78.3% White, 6.1% Asian, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Woodman Park School, with a diversity index of 45.4/100.
Its largest campus is Dover Senior High School, enrolling 1,371 students (39% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Garrison School, at 353 students, a 4x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Dover Senior High School accounts for 36.3% of all Dover School District student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Dover School District-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: high. A single dominant campus often anchors a district's program offerings and staffing patterns; the share helps explain why district-wide averages may not reflect the typical neighbourhood-school experience. When one entity dominates a region's footprint, its programmatic and budget decisions effectively set policy for a majority of the affected population.
Dover School District school enrollment varies 3.9× across entities
Dover School District school enrollment ranges from 353 students (lowest) to 1,371 students (highest), a spread of 1,018 students. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually homogeneous campus portfolio, most districts have a wider mix of school sizes. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Dover School District student-counselor ratio is 247:1 — low (typically associated with meeting or exceeding the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommended 250:1 benchmark, which correlates with stronger college and career counseling capacity)
student-counselor ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE counselors against total enrollment, districts that contract intervention or social-emotional staff outside the counselor classification may be under-counted Lower values often correlate with smaller scale and population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se.
Dover School District chronic absenteeism rate is 36.5% — high (typically associated with higher-than-average disruption; recent CRDC data showed elevated rates persisting after pandemic-era schooling changes)
chronic absenteeism rate is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: a student is chronically absent if they miss ≥10% of enrolled days for any reason, illness, family obligations, or disengagement Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
Dover School District has 5 schools, including 1 high, 3 elementary, 1 combined. Total enrollment is 3,778 students.
How much does Dover School District spend per student?
Dover School District spends $17,466 per student. The district has an equity score of 26/100, ranking #101 in New Hampshire.
What is the demographic composition of Dover School District?
Dover School District students are 78.3% White, 6.1% Asian, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 1.7% African American, averaged across 5 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Dover School District?
Dover School District has an equity score of 26/100, ranking #101 out of 114 districts in New Hampshire.