If you’re trying to decide where to raise your family, the quality of local schools is a hugely important consideration. According to US News and World Report, New Hampshire is number 3 in the nation for the best public schools, so we’re all starting off in a great place! Of course, the quality of schools is not even statewide, so we’re looking at Niche.com’s ratings of public school districts in New Hampshire to find the best of the best. They calculate scores using public data including assessments, student safety, quality of extracurricular programming, and more. Learn about their methodology here.
Technically, this could make the cut in Vermont too - it serves both Hanover, NH and Norwich, VT. However, the high school, middle school, and one of the two elementary schools are in Hanover, so we think New Hampshire can claim this one! It's not surprising that in an Ivy League College town the schools are fantastic - after all, plenty of the students have parents who are professors. The district also ranks #1 on Niche.com's list of districts with the best teachers in New Hampshire.
Bedford's schools include 3 local elementary schools, lower and upper middle schools, and a high school. The high school in particular stands out - in addition to Advanced Placement classes, it offers the prestigious International Baccalaureate program. Its sports program is also fantastic.
Portsmouth's school district has options for every kind of student, including a traditional high school, an alternative high school, and a career technical education school. In addition, its Little Harbour Elementary School was named the #3 elementary school in the country by one ranking website.
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4. Oyster River Cooperative School District, Durham
Serving Durham, Lee, and Madbury, this school district soaks up the academic excellence of nearby UNH. The district has a progressive educational philosophy, and the high school was renovated in 2006 with state-of-the-art facilities.
Bow's school district includes an elementary, middle, and high school (the latter two also serve students from Dunbarton). Until 1997 Bow students went to high school in Concord, but when the city wouldn't support that any more they built an excellent facility with high-end technology and visual equipment that serves its students very well.
This school district is comprised of a middle school and high school serving students from (you guessed it!) Hollis and Brookline. The high school offers an extensive AP curriculum, and made it onto a Newsweek list of best high schools in America.
Londonderry has four local elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. Their high school has a top-ranked marching band that participates in the New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade every year and has gone to the Rose Bowl on multiple occasions! Their academics are fantastic too - and if you want to learn robotics or participate in the Quizbowl instead of joining the marching band they've got you covered.
With K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12 schools, students in the Windham district truly grow up together. The high school has 14 AP classes, and each student is given a MacBook Air to use.
Hopkinton has two elementary schools and a combined middle-high school, which has been ranked the #1 high school in New Hampshire by US News in 2014, 2015, and 2016.
What do you think – do you agree with this assessment? What great school districts didn’t make their list?
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