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Which teacher or staff member at Smoky Mountain High School deserves more recognition?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
881
High
DISTRICT 293 · STATE 761
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·JACKSON COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 370234001008
Smoky Mountain High School
100 Smoky Mountain Drive, Sylva, NC 28779 · (828) 586-2177 · Jackson County
GRADES 09–12HIGH32-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL881 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 53% of North Carolina public high schools
- B-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- BBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded North Carolina public high schools
Student : Teacher
21.2:1
42 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 24.7:1 · STATE 19.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
98%
861 students
DISTRICT 96% · STATE 82%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 238 | 27% |
| Grade 10 | 217 | 25% |
| Grade 11 | 210 | 24% |
| Grade 12 | 216 | 25% |
Student demographics
51%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 55% · STATE 71% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
NC EOG / EOC 2024-25 . % Grade Level Proficient (Level 3+)English Language Arts
56.7%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
38.6%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 57 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 39 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all North Carolina schools, those numbers are about 51 and 52.
Source: NC EOG / EOC. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
46.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
49.0%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-2.7pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 46% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 49% typical for North Carolina schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among North Carolina's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Smoky Mountain High School
Smoky Mountain High School's state test result (46.3% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoky Mountain High School this school | 881 | 97.7% | 46.3% |
| North Iredell High Olin | 983 | 99.7% | 46.4% |
| Enka High Candler | 1,051 | 99.7% | 41.8% |
| Carson High China Grove | 1,063 | 99.7% | 47.5% |
| Patton High School Morganton | 756 | 98.9% | 54.5% |
| Hibriten High Lenoir | 818 | 98.7% | 39.8% |
Matched among North Carolina high schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Smoky Mountain High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 46.3% | #241 of 468 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 38.6% | #208 of 464 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 56.7% | #225 of 448 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 881 | #217 of 598 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 21.2:1 | #339 of 473 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 50.9% | #352 of 474 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 97.7% | #308 of 527 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -2.4% | #252 of 277 |
Ranked against other public high schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
881
-12 (-1%) vs 2020
-6% since 1990-91, when it was 941
Student : Teacher
21.2:1
was 16.2:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 881 | 41.6 | 21.2:1 | 98% (861) |
| 2023-24 | 899 | 53.9 | 16.7:1 | 53% (480) |
| 2022-23 | 899 | 54.2 | 16.6:1 | 54% (487) |
| 2020-21 | 893 | 55 | 16.2:1 | 27% (245) |
| 2017-18 | 903 | 57.1 | 15.8:1 | 40% (359) |
| 2015-16 | 878 | 55 | 16.0:1 | 43% (374) |
| 2010-11 | 770 | 58 | 13.3:1 | 43% (328) |
| 2000-01 | 992 | 70 | 14.2:1 | 25% (247) |
| 1990-91 | 941 | 77 | 12.2:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Smoky Mountain High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 2% (903 to 881); teachers down 27% (57.1 to 41.6).
About Smoky Mountain High School
At 100 Smoky Mountain Drive in Sylva, North Carolina, Smoky Mountain High School operates as a mid-sized high school. It reported 881 students in grades 9 through 12 in 2024-25.
Jackson County Public Schools runs 9 schools with a combined 3,444 students. Smoky Mountain High School is one of them.
More than half of the students at Smoky Mountain High School are White (66%). Beyond that, enrollment is 21% Hispanic, 6% Native American, and 5% multiracial. In Jackson County overall, about 79% of residents are White. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, Smoky Mountain High School scores 51%.
A staff of 41.6 full-time-equivalent teachers puts the student-to-teacher ratio at 21.2:1. Compared with the 19.6:1 average for high schools in North Carolina, this school's ratio is higher. By family income, 98% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The figure for public schools in Jackson County is close, at 96%.
Smoky Mountain High School holds a B- allk12 Grade, placing it above 53% of North Carolina public high schools.
Schools in North Carolina with a similar free or reduced-price lunch share are predicted to score about 49.0%. Smoky Mountain High School scores 46.3%.
In Jackson County, median household income comes to about $55,815, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 31% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 10%. The county's public schools total 11, with about 3,823 students.
Straight-line distance to the nearest public school, Fairview School, is about 0.3 miles. Around the school, 6 other public schools are within five miles. Of the 6 nearby schools with scores, including this one, Smoky Mountain High School is 4th on average proficiency.
Under the NCES locale system, Smoky Mountain High School is Town: Distant.
The school's size has been steady, with 893 students in 2020-21 and 881 in 2024-25. The number of students per teacher increased from 16.2 to 21.2 over 4 years.
Parents, students, and staff can share information on athletics, class schedules, and weather closures here. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Jackson County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
43,771
Census ACS
Median income
$55,815
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
31%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
11
3,823 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Jackson County Public Schools
- Fairview SchoolElementary · 797 students
- Cullowhee Valley SchoolElementary · 570 students
- Scotts Creek SchoolElementary · 422 students
- Smokey Mountain ElementaryElementary · 340 students
- Blue Ridge SchoolElementary · 144 students
- Blue Ridge Early CollegeHigh · 127 students
Other schools in Sylva
- Fairview SchoolElementary · 797 students
- Scotts Creek SchoolElementary · 422 students
- Jackson Co Early CollegeHigh · 113 students
- Jackson Community SchoolHigh · 50 students
Nearby schools
- Fairview School0.3 mi · 797
- Jackson Co Early College0.6 mi · 113
- Catamount School3.1 mi · 64
- Jackson Community School4.0 mi · 50
- Scotts Creek School4.0 mi · 422
- Cullowhee Valley School4.3 mi · 570
Frequently asked questions
About Smoky Mountain High SchoolHow large is Smoky Mountain High School?
Smoky Mountain High School enrolls approximately 881 students in grades 09-12.
What age range does Smoky Mountain High School serve?
Smoky Mountain High School serves students from grade 09 through grade 12.
How many students per teacher at Smoky Mountain High School?
Approximately 21.2:1 students per teacher at Smoky Mountain High School.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Smoky Mountain High School?
At Smoky Mountain High School, the student body is approximately 66% White, 21% Hispanic, 1% Black, 1% Asian, 5% Two or more.
Who oversees Smoky Mountain High School?
Smoky Mountain High School is overseen by Jackson County Public Schools in Jackson County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.