Delaware · NCES CCD 2024-25

Best-Resourced Public Schools in Delaware

Top 50 schools ranked by resource quality score, based on student-teacher ratio, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance.

Compiled from official source data by PlainSchools. · Updated August 2026

The ranking in one line

Heritage Elementary School in Wilmington is Delaware's top-resourced public school, scoring 60/100 on the NCES resource index.

60/100
top score (grade C+): 2
schools at the top grade (C+): 50/100
average across the top 50

#	School	Grade	Enrollment	Student:Teacher	District	Score
1	Heritage Elementary SchoolWilmington	C+	492	12.6:1	Red Clay Consolidated School District	60
2	Clayton (John M.) Elementary SchoolFrankford	C+	446	12.1:1	Indian River School District	60
3	North Star Elementary SchoolHockessin	C	589	15.1:1	Red Clay Consolidated School District	59
4	Linden Hill Elementary SchoolWilmington	C	532	13.6:1	Red Clay Consolidated School District	58
5	Seaford Central Elementary SchoolSeaford	C	473	15.3:1	Seaford School District	58
6	Marbrook Elementary SchoolWilmington	C	465	12.2:1	Red Clay Consolidated School District	57
7	William F. Cooke Jr. ElementaryHockessin	C	613	15.3:1	Red Clay Consolidated School District	56
8	Gallaher (Robert S.) Elementary SchoolNewark	C	469	9.8:1	Christina School District	56
9	Showell (Phillip C.) Elementary SchoolSelbyville	C	297	13.5:1	Indian River School District	56
10	Wilson (Etta J.) Elementary SchoolNewark	C	271	13.6:1	Christina School District	55
11	Star Hill Elementary SchoolDover	C-	429	61.3:1	Caesar Rodney School District	54
12	Southern Delaware School of the ArtsSelbyville	C-	404	12.6:1	Indian River School District	54
13	West Park Place Elementary SchoolNewark	C-	350	13:1	Christina School District	54
14	Leasure (May B.) Elementary SchoolNewark	C-	316	10.5:1	Christina School District	54
15	Major George S. Welch Elementary SchoolDover	C-	261	7.9:1	Caesar Rodney School District	54
16	Forest Oak Elementary SchoolNewark	C-	429	12.3:1	Red Clay Consolidated School District	53
17	Gateway Charter SchoolWilmington	C-	211	8.8:1	Gateway Charter School	53
18	Great Oaks Charter SchoolWilmington	C-	149	10.6:1	Great Oaks Charter School	53
19	Maclary (R. Elisabeth) Elementary SchoolNewark	C-	244	10.6:1	Christina School District	52
20	Baltz (Austin D.) Elementary SchoolWilmington	C-	549	12.5:1	Red Clay Consolidated School District	51
21	North Smyrna Elementary SchoolSmyrna	C-	557	13.3:1	Smyrna School District	50
22	Richey Elementary SchoolWilmington	C-	382	14.7:1	Red Clay Consolidated School District	50
23	Jones (Albert H.) Elementary SchoolNewark	C-	329	14.3:1	Christina School District	50
24	Georgetown Elementary SchoolGeorgetown	D	825	13.3:1	Indian River School District	49
25	Lake Forest Central Elementary SchoolFelton	D	604	15.5:1	Lake Forest School District	49
26	Johnson (Joseph E. Jr) Elementary SchoolWilmington	D	276	13.1:1	Red Clay Consolidated School District	49
27	The Colwyck CenterNew Castle	D	222	9.3:1	Colonial School District	49
28	Cedar Lane Elementary SchoolMiddletown	D	634	16.3:1	Appoquinimink School District	48
29	William Henry Middle SchoolDover	D	432	8.6:1	Capital School District	48
30	Beacon Middle SchoolLewes	D	427	8.9:1	Cape Henlopen School District	48
31	Warner Elementary SchoolWilmington	D	395	9.6:1	Red Clay Consolidated School District	48
32	Lewis (William C.) Dual Language Elementary SchoolWilmington	D	347	8.3:1	Red Clay Consolidated School District	48
33	Brandywine Springs SchoolWilmington	D	941	15.4:1	Red Clay Consolidated School District	47
34	Providence Creek Academy Charter SchoolClayton	D	769	16.7:1	Providence Creek Academy Charter School	47
35	Moore (John Bassett) SchoolSmyrna	D	638	13.6:1	Smyrna School District	47
36	Richardson Park Elementary SchoolWilmington	D	522	9.3:1	Red Clay Consolidated School District	47
37	Mcvey (Joseph M.) Elementary SchoolNewark	D	319	11:1	Christina School District	47
38	Sussex Technical High SchoolGeorgetown	D	1,341	15.1:1	Sussex Technical School District	46
39	Charter School of WilmingtonWilmington	D	977	19.2:1	Charter School of Wilmington	46
40	Kuumba Academy Charter SchoolWilmington	D	594	10.2:1	Kuumba Academy Charter School	46
41	Mariner Middle SchoolMilton	D	552	11.7:1	Cape Henlopen School District	46
42	Frederick Douglass Elementary SchoolSeaford	D	456	14.3:1	Seaford School District	46
43	North Georgetown Elementary SchoolGeorgetown	D	754	14.5:1	Indian River School District	45
44	Dupont (Pierre S.) Middle SchoolWilmington	D	730	10.7:1	Brandywine School District	45
45	Long Neck Elementary SchoolMillsboro	D	712	15.1:1	Indian River School District	45
46	Lord Baltimore Elementary SchoolOcean View	D	557	12.7:1	Indian River School District	45
47	Brick Mill Elementary SchoolMiddletown	D	524	15.9:1	Appoquinimink School District	45
48	W. B. Simpson Elementary SchoolCamden	D	465	11.9:1	Caesar Rodney School District	45
49	Mote (Anna P.) Elementary SchoolWilmington	D	310	9.4:1	Red Clay Consolidated School District	45
50	Brick Mill Early Childhood CenterMiddletown	D	280	10:1	Appoquinimink School District	45

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best public schools in Delaware? ▼

The highest-ranked school in Delaware is Heritage Elementary School in Wilmington with a quality score of 60/100 (grade C+). Rankings are based on student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, gifted programs, and attendance rates from NCES data.

How are school quality scores calculated? ▼

Quality scores (0-100) are computed from NCES data across 4 metrics: student-teacher ratio (lower is better, national avg ~16:1), counselor availability (ASCA recommends 250:1), gifted program availability, and chronic absenteeism rate (lower is better). This measures school resources, not test scores.

Explore More for Delaware

All Schools → Largest Schools → Absenteeism Data → Highest Spending → National Ranking →

Methodology

Quality scores (0-100) are computed from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 metrics: student-teacher ratio, school counselor availability, gifted program access, and chronic absenteeism rates. Schools must have at least 50 students and data for one or more metrics. This measures resource quality, not test scores. Higher scores indicate smaller class sizes, better counselor access, and lower absenteeism.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.