Polk County Schools continues to draw national recognition for the quality of its education and faculty.
For the third straight year, Niche.com has ranked Polk County Schools as the second-best school district in North Carolina. Niche uses a proprietary rating system to rank all districts and schools across the United States.
Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools ranked as the state’s top district.
Niche also once again ranked Polk County Schools as the safest school district in the state, the district with the best teachers and the best place to teach. It marks the second consecutive year the school has led all those rankings.
Niche also rated Polk County Schools among the top five percent of schools districts across the country.
“We are always pleased to receive notification that Polk County Schools has earned high ratings from an independent reviewer like Niche,” said Superintendent Aaron Greene. “The success we achieve results from the tremendous effort of our staff, hard work by our students, and support and involvement from our families and community.
“Polk County is a special place. We have a community that values education and provides both fiscal and material resources so we can do our best for our students. We have a Board of Education who govern and support in a manner that allows us to provide outstanding educational experiences. These rankings and related recognition are about Polk County as a collective, not just our school district, and should be shared by our entire community.”
The Niche.com rating included this feedback from a Polk County High School student:
“I was going to a different high school up until my junior year. Covid hit, closing things down. Especially schools. My old high school was fully remote the entire 2020-2021 school year. I wanted to go in person! I missed interactions with peers. I missed sitting in a classroom. I missed the teacher lectures. So after debating the pros and cons of transferring schools in high schools, I decided to transfer to Polk County High School in September 2020. I was very nervous about the decision.
“However, once I walked thru the doors I was greeted with smiling faces, eager to meet me. Teachers were so nice and helpful. I made friends quickly. It is a small school, but the friendliness and welcoming I received was big. I love it here! I am so happy I made the decision to transfer. People always say that small towns are friendly towns. They are absolutely right! I can not see myself going anywhere else! I am so thankful and gratful to call Polk County High School, “my school”!”
Other Western North Carolina school districts ranked in the Niche top 25 included:
5. Asheville City Schools
16. Henderson County Schools
20. Buncombe County Schools
22. Yancey County Schools
24. Macon County Schools
Another website, Stacker.com, also recently published an article listing Polk County Schools as the top school district in North Carolina. That ranking was based, in part, on Niche data.
