18417 Highway 221
Marion, NC 28752

We've only been here about 3 months, but being a military family my kids have attended A LOT of schools over the last 15 years. This is by far one of the best middle school experiences. The teachers are involved and proud of their school. My son loves it. The administration and teachers still make learning fun for the students by doing lots of after school field trips and several trips out of town to the Outerbanks, Gettysburg, DC. Furthermore, the school district has embraced the future and brought in online learning for those courses not offered by the brick and mortar classrooms on campus. I have a great feeling about the next few years!

Love this school! My two older children went there and now my younger one and my grandchild go there. Great teachers, great staff all around! The teachers there make a difference in every child's life. They truly care about the students! Wouldn't want to go anywhere else!!!!

this school would rather target and prosecute the kids who are tardy and not the kids who are vaping and doing other things...? the teachers are good people but when it comes to students the school is over its head, they cannot control all the things going on around school and even if they could they probably wouldn't do anything about it anyway Mcdowell High School has so much potential but fails to reach it on so many different levels some students do see something and say something.... but the thing is who is going to listen and actually do something about it. Not Mcdowell High School

School has a nice enough program that gives driven young adults a chance to excell for their future. The program is good but they change things on a whim and do not believe in involving parents. They schedule EVERYTHING LAST MINUTE AND EXPECT PARENTS TO CHANGE THEIR SCHEDULES AROUND TO ACCOMMODATE. This part infuriates me. They have a horrible mandatory trip every year forcing the students to go to camp haite and stay outside in 90 degree temperature all day and sleep in cabins with no air conditioning like a boot camp. They say it is for team building but it is truly torture for the students. The showers are separated by curtains in some cabins and the kids come home dehydrated and sick every year. The tuition was free when the kids started there and now they charge more and more every year and started telling them this year if they didn't pay in 48 hours they would be dropped from their classes. It has truly gotten ridiculous there. I am glad my child has the degree at the end but I think it could be ran a lot better and the trips could be better planed and finances. They never do any good fundraising besides the variety show which raises no money for the trips. This school needs better management and planning horribly. Hope that in the future they do better by the students and realize that not everyone is made of money or has a schedule that can change on a whim.