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What do you wish you knew before starting at Swain County High School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
536
High
DISTRICT 284 · STATE 761
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SWAIN COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370444001763
Swain County High School
1415 Fontana Road, Bryson City, NC 28713 · (828) 488-2152 · Swain County
GRADES 09–12HIGH43-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL536 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 44% of North Carolina public high schools
- C+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B-Beats 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
19.3:1
28 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.6:1 · STATE 19.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
98%
526 students
DISTRICT 80% · 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 | 143 | 27% |
| Grade 10 | 126 | 24% |
| Grade 11 | 142 | 26% |
| Grade 12 | 125 | 23% |
Student demographics
50%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
54.2%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
36.4%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 54 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 36 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
42.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.9%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-6.4pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 42% 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 Swain County High School
Swain County High School's state test result (42.4% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swain County High School this school | 536 | 98.1% | 42.4% |
| East Carteret High Beaufort | 521 | 97.7% | 69.9% |
| Robbinsville High Robbinsville | 332 | 99.1% | 47.6% |
| Murphy High Murphy | 424 | 99.3% | 51.5% |
| North Stanly High New London | 568 | 98.2% | 36.7% |
| East Surry High Pilot Mountain | 576 | 99.5% | 58.1% |
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 Swain County High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 42.4% | #281 of 468 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 36.4% | #227 of 464 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 54.2% | #250 of 448 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 536 | #337 of 598 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 19.3:1 | #276 of 473 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 50.4% | #354 of 474 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 98.1% | #291 of 527 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -4.3% | #216 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
536
-21 (-4%) vs 2020
-9% since 1990-91, when it was 590
Student : Teacher
19.3:1
was 13.9:1
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 | 536 | 27.7 | 19.3:1 | 98% (526) |
| 2023-24 | 559 | 41.4 | 13.5:1 | 99% (556) |
| 2022-23 | 560 | 39.6 | 14.2:1 | 51% (288) |
| 2020-21 | 557 | 40 | 13.9:1 | 39% (217) |
| 2017-18 | 560 | 40 | 14.0:1 | 43% (243) |
| 2015-16 | 571 | 45 | 12.7:1 | 47% (270) |
| 2010-11 | 613 | 46 | 13.3:1 | 55% (338) |
| 2000-01 | 497 | 46 | 10.8:1 | 46% (231) |
| 1990-91 | 590 | 48 | 12.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Swain County High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 4% (560 to 536); teachers down 31% (40 to 27.7).
About Swain County High School
Swain County High School is a high school in Bryson City, North Carolina, reachable at (828) 488-2152. The school covers grades 9 through 12 and reported 536 students in 2024-25. The school is 30% below the average for high schools in North Carolina.
Swain County High School falls under Swain County Schools, which has 6 schools enrolling 1,872 students.
The student body at Swain County High School is 67% White. After that, the student body is 18% Native American, 7% multiracial, and 7% Hispanic. A diversity index of 50% means there is a 50% chance two randomly chosen students at Swain County High School are from different groups.
A staff of 27.7 full-time-equivalent teachers puts the student-to-teacher ratio at 19.3:1. It is about the same as the 19.6:1 average for high schools in North Carolina. The share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch is 98%. Public schools in Swain County average a similar 96%.
On the allk12 Grade, Swain County High School lands at C+, ahead of 44% of North Carolina public high schools.
Schools in North Carolina with a similar free or reduced-price lunch share are predicted to score about 48.9%. Swain County High School scores 42.4%.
Swain County is the school's county. There, the median household earns about $52,349 a year, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 21% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 14%. Swain County High School shares Swain County with 8 other public schools.
Straight-line distance to the nearest public school, Swain Academy, is less than a tenth of a mile. Around the school, 6 other public schools are within five miles. On state test proficiency, Swain County High School ranks 3rd in a group of 5 nearby schools.
Swain County High School is in rural territory far from an urban area, a location NCES labels Rural: Remote.
In 2024-25, the school enrolled 536, down from 557 in 2020-21. By 2024-25, the school had 19.3 students per teacher, compared with 13.9 in 2020-21.
Swain County High School has a community page on allk12 for topics such as pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback. You can also rate the school on this page.
Swain County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
14,013
Census ACS
Median income
$52,349
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
21%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
14%
Below federal line
Schools in county
9
3,393 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Swain County Schools
- Swain County Middle SchoolMiddle · 453 students
- Swain County West ElementaryElementary · 403 students
- Swain County East ElementaryElementary · 338 students
- Cherokee Extension SchoolCombined · 110 students
- Swain AcademyHigh · 32 students
Other schools in Bryson City
- Swain County Middle SchoolMiddle · 453 students
- Swain County West ElementaryElementary · 403 students
- Swain County East ElementaryElementary · 338 students
- Mountain DiscoveryElementary · 221 students
- Cherokee Extension SchoolCombined · 110 students
- Swain AcademyHigh · 32 students
Nearby schools
- Swain Academy0.0 mi · 32
- Cherokee Extension School1.6 mi · 110
- Swain County Middle School1.7 mi · 453
- Mountain Discovery2.3 mi · 221
- Swain County East Elementary3.9 mi · 338
- Swain County West Elementary4.5 mi · 403
Frequently asked questions
About Swain County High SchoolHow large is Swain County High School?
Swain County High School enrolls approximately 536 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does Swain County High School serve?
Swain County High School serves grades 09-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Swain County High School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Swain County High School is approximately 19.3:1 (28 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Swain County High School?
Swain County High School reports a student body of 67% White, 7% Hispanic, 0% Black, 1% Asian, 7% Two or more.
Who oversees Swain County High School?
Swain County High School is overseen by Swain County Schools in Swain County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.