Hickory Sun

Saint Stephens High School had the highest enrollment among Catawba County schools, welcoming 1,218 students during the 2022-23 school year, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

Among the 39 schools in Catawba County, Hickory High School ranked second in enrollment numbers with 966 students, while Fred T. Foard High School welcomed 927 students and ranked third in the 2022-23 school year.

Saint Stephens High School is part of Catawba County Schools district, which roughly covers institutions within Catawba County and has a main office in Newton.

In the previous school year, Saint Stephens High School also had the highest number of students among Catawba County schools.

Despite boasting a favorable teacher-student ratio of 1:15, surpassing the national average, North Carolina's public schools face a significant funding gap. The state's per-student expenditure of $10,519 falls considerably short of the national average of $14,295.

North Carolina's public schools faced a staggering 58.4% surge in vacant teaching positions in the 2021-22 school year, leaving over 5,000 classrooms without qualified instructors.

School name	City	Total School Enrollment
Saint Stephens High School	Hickory	1,218
Hickory High School	Hickory	966
Fred T. Foard High School	Newton	927
Maiden High School	Maiden	853
Bandys High School	Catawba	848
Bunker Hill High School	Claremont	816
Newton-Conover High School	Newton	735
Saint Stephens Elementary School	Conover	705
Mountain View Elementary School	Hickory	692
Balls Creek Elementary School	Newton	672
Harry M. Arndt Middle School	Hickory	626
Newton-Conover Middle School	Conover	601
Snow Creek Elementary School	Hickory	571
Oxford Elementary School	Claremont	554
Sherrills Ford Elementary School	Sherrills Ford	527
Blackburn Elementary School	Newton	518
Viewmont Elementary School	Hickory	514
Startown Elementary School	Newton	511
Maiden Elementary School	Maiden	482
Northview Middle School	Hickory	472
Clyde Campbell Elementary School	Hickory	458
Jacobs Fork Middle School	Newton	434
Lyle Creek Elementary School	Conover	421
North Newton Elementary School	Newton	420
Shuford Elementary School	Conover	416
Mill Creek Middle School	Claremont	416
Grandview Middle School	Hickory	396
Catawba Elementary School	Catawba	387
Webb A. Murray Elementary School	Hickory	374
South Newton Elementary School	Newton	337
Oakwood Elementary School	Hickory	324
Longview Elementary School	Hickory	318
Banoak Elementary School	Vale	287
Southwest Primary School	Hickory	278
W. M. Jenkins Elementary School	Hickory	256
Hickory Career Arts Magnet High School	Hickory	233
Discovery High School	Newton	193
Conover Special Education	Conover	51
Catawba Rosenwald Education Center	Catawba	2