CENTRAL HIGH

As a big secondary school in CAPE GIRARDEAU, Missouri, CENTRAL HIGH educates 1,278 students from grades 9 through 12, run under CAPE GIRARDEAU 63. That puts it 155% above the typical public school in Missouri, which averages around 501 students.

Across the 8 schools in CAPE GIRARDEAU 63 (4,310 students total), CENTRAL HIGH accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On the student-mix side, CENTRAL HIGH reports that 48% of students identify as White, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. Other groups include 32% Black, 11% multiracial, 8% Hispanic, 2% Asian. By comparison, Cape Girardeau County as a whole is about 85% White, so the school skews noticeably less White than its surroundings.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Staff filings list 89 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 14.3:1 students per teacher. That figure is higher than the state norm's 12.2:1 average. An estimated 100% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. That share is noticeably above Cape Girardeau County's rate of about 62%.

After controlling for student poverty, CENTRAL HIGH performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 49.4%, the actual is 56.5%, a residual of +7.1 points.

In the surrounding community, the surrounding county (Cape Girardeau County) reports that the typical household earns roughly $68,464 per year, 33% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 6%. Across Cape Girardeau County's 27 public schools (combined enrollment of about 11,025 students), CENTRAL HIGH is one campus in the mix.

PARKVIEW SCHOOL is the nearest neighboring public school, about 1.9 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts CENTRAL HIGH at 2nd of 7; the average score across the group is 43.2%.

CENTRAL HIGH operates from a metropolitan location.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at CENTRAL HIGH has expanded 11%, going from 1,156 students in 2018 to 1,278 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 57% to 48% across the same window.

On allk12, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.