Complete Guide to Cape Cod Schools | 🏫Top Private Schools, High Schools & Charter Schools

Are you moving to Cape Cod with kids or planning to start a family in the future? One of the many benefits of living on Cape Cod is it’s a great place to raise a family! Cape Cod boasts not only beautiful beaches but family-friendly amenities, sports leagues, parks, close-knit towns, low crime, and quality schools.

Ready to explore Cape Cod schools to help you decide which Cape Cod town to call home? Here’s a complete guide to all 10 Cape Cod school districts with information about charter schools, Cape Cod high schools, and private schools. School districts are listed alphabetically with a full list of schools, school ratings, and standout features and awards.

Barnstable Public Schools

• Enrollment: 4,700
• Schools: 9
• Communities served: Town of Barnstable including Barnstable, Hyannis, Hyannis Port, Centerville, Osterville, Cotuit, and Marstons Mills
• Barnstable DART Profile
• 2021 Barnstable District Report Card

Barnstable Public Schools is the largest Cape Cod school district. There are nine Town of Barnstable schools, most of them in Hyannis. Barnstable High School was ranked one of the top high schools in the United States by U.S. News in 2021. It ranked #170 out of 348 high schools in Massachusetts. Barnstable HS has an AP participation rate of 47% and it’s ranked #7 among Cape Cod high schools.

Residents can participate in the free preschool program through Enoch Cobb Early Learning Center in Hyannis with limited space.

Bourne Public Schools

• Enrollment: 1,500
• Schools: 4
• Communities served: Bourne
• Bourne DART Profile
• 2021 Bourne District Report Card

The Bourne, MA school district is small, but it has a lot to offer! Bourne is a desirable school district for families with young kids. Bourne Public Schools offers an integrated pre-K program for 3- and 4-year-olds in the district and tuition-free full-day kindergarten.

Bourne High School boasts an award-winning performing and visual arts program, innovation pathways in business/finance or environmental science, and more than 25 pre-AP and AP courses. Students can participate in more than 45 co-curricular and athletic activities.

Dennis-Yarmouth Public Schools

• Enrollment: 2,800
• Schools: 6
• Communities served: South Yarmouth, West Yarmouth, South Dennis, West Dennis, Dennis Port
• Dennis-Yarmouth DART Profile
• 2021 Dennis-Yarmouth District Report Card

Better known as the DY Regional School District or just the D-Y System, Dennis-Yarmouth boasts some of the best Cape Cod schools and serves the Towns of Dennis and Yarmouth, MA. Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School offers diverse academics, Advanced Placement Courses, and electives ranging from band and orchestra to robotics, graphic design, computer science, and photography. Students can also participate in nearly two dozen clubs as well as athletics programs.

Falmouth Public Schools

• Enrollment: 3,400
• Schools: 7
• Communities served: Falmouth, North Falmouth, East Falmouth, Teaticket, and Woods Hole
• Falmouth DART Profile
• 2021 Falmouth District Report Card

One of the largest Cape public school systems, Falmouth Public Schools serves the Town of Falmouth with seven schools. Falmouth High School is one of the best high schools in Cape Cod and ranks #3 on the Cape and #69 in Massachusetts. The school consistently outperforms the state on MCAS scores. Starting with 7th grade in the Lawrence School, students participate in an Engineering course with the option for a year-long Advanced STEM course. Falmouth High School has a dedicated STEM academy, the STEM Lab, with a wet lab, dry lab, woodworking lab, and computer lab.

Mashpee Public Schools

• Enrollment: 1,500
• Schools: 3
• Communities served: Mashpee
• Mashpee DART Profile
• 2021 Mashpee District Report Card

The small town of Mashpee, MA has a small school district with just three schools, but families can appreciate the high-quality Cape Cod schools, small classroom sizes, and free preschool program.

Mashpee High School has MCAS scores that exceed that Massachusetts average and a 49% AP participation rate. The combined Mashpee Middle-High School boasts award-winning art, instrumental, choral, and drama programs with multi-cultural programs, world languages in grades 7-12, and no fees. Students benefit from dual enrollment opportunities, 1:1 tech ratio for all grades, and many athletic programs.

The Kenneth C. Coombs School offers free full-day preschool for Mashpee residents!

Monomoy Regional School District

• Enrollment: 1,800
• Schools: 4
• Communities served: Chatham and Harwich
• Monomoy DART Profile
• 2021 Monomoy District Report Card

Chatham and Harwich public schools in the Monomoy district are among the best in the state. The district boasts graduation and college attendance rates well above the Massachusetts average. Monomoy Regional High School offers dual enrollment at MA Maritime Academy and Cape Cod Community College (CCCC), Advanced Placement courses, and Honors courses. Students benefit from a robust STEM curriculum, world languages, an accelerated math pathway, and diverse electives in English, math, science, history, and social science.

Nauset Public Schools

• Enrollment: 2,200
• Schools: 7
• Communities served: Brewster, Orleans, Eastham, and Wellfleet
• Nauset DART Profile
• 2021 Nauset District Report Card

The Nauset school system serves the Towns of Eastham, Orleans, Brewster, and Wellfleet. Most towns have their own elementary school but all four are served by a single middle and high school.

Nauset Regional High School was ranked one of the top high schools in MA in 2021. Coming in at #32 in Massachusetts, it was one of just three schools on Cape Cod to make the top 100 in the state.

Provincetown Public Schools

• Enrollment: 150
• Schools: 1
• Communities served: Provincetown
• Provincetown DART Profile
• 2021 Provincetown District Report Card

Provincetown School District or Provincetown IB Schools is a small district serving just 150 children in PK to 8. The district previously served kids through 12th grade with Provincetown High School, but students now attend Nauset Regional High School in the Nauset Public Schools district or Sturgis Charter Public School.

The K-8 school is an International Baccalaureate World School offering an IB program for students aged 3 through 15.

Sandwich Public Schools

• Enrollment: 2,300
• Schools: 4
• Communities served: Sandwich, East Sandwich, and Forestdale
• Sandwich DART Profile
• 2021 Sandwich District Report Card

The Town of Sandwich is one of the best Cape Cod school districts with MCAS scores well above the Massachusetts average, advanced academics opportunities, technology integration, and extracurriculars. The district offers Advanced Placement courses and a Dual Enrollment program through Cape Cod Community College.

Sandwich High School students can benefit from Project Lead the Way Engineering or Bio-Medical pathways to take coursework that sets the path to college or a career. SHS offers dozens of clubs with a strong athletics department.

Middle school students attend STEM Academy with a diverse selection of elective courses covering ecology, space exploration, architecture, game design, programming, archaeology, debate, and history.

Truro Public Schools

• Enrollment: 110
• Schools: 1
• Communities served: Truro and North Truro
• Truro DART Profile
• 2021 Truro District Report Card

The small Town of Truro, home to just 2,500 people, is served by a single school: Truro Central School. Truro students attend the PK-6 elementary school before attending Nauset Regional Middle School or Provincetown IB Schools before attending Nauset Regional High School.

Cape Cod Vocational High Schools

Families have two alternatives to a traditional Cape Cod high school. These schools are designed to prepare students for rewarding, lucrative careers.

Cape Cod Regional Technical High School in Harwich, better known as Cape Cod Tech or CCT, serves the towns of Harwich, Brewster, Barnstable, Chatham, Dennis, Eastham, Mashpee, Yarmouth, Wellfleet, Truro, and Provincetown.

Students are prepared for life with Career Pathways made up of counselors, teachers, and industry professionals. The school offers:

• 9th Grade Academy
• Construction Academy (carpentry, electrical, horticulture, HVAC, and plumbing)
• HHH Services Academy (culinary arts, cosmetology, health technology, and dental)
• STEAM Academy (design and visual communication, engineering, and information technology)
• Transportation Academy (auto technology, auto collision, and marine services)

Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School or Upper Cape Cod Tech in Bourne serves the towns of Bourne, Marion, Falmouth, Sandwich, and Wareham. Students can choose from a vast array of technical programs including:

• Automotive technology or collision repair
• Carpentry
• Cosmetology
• Culinary Arts
• Engineering
• Health Technology
• Horticulture & Landscaping
• HVAC
• Information Technology
• Marine Technology
• Plumbing & Heating
• Veterinary Science

Students benefit from a robust academic curriculum with college planning assistance and dual enrollment opportunities.

Charter Schools on Cape Cod

There are three Cape Cod charter schools available to families: two in Hyannis and the third in East Harwich.

Sturgis Charter Public School

• Grades: 9-12
• West Campus address: 105 W Main St, Hyannis, MA 02601
• East Campus address: 427 Main St, Hyannis, MA 02601

Ranked the #3 best high school in Massachusetts, Sturgis Charter School is one of just 3 Cape Cod high schools among the top 100 in the state. It’s also ranked #40 among charter schools in the United States! Sturgis Charter is one of the most desirable schools on Cape Cod and uses a non-selective lottery for admissions. The school is an International Baccalaureate Diploma Program school that offers an “IB for All” experience. All courses for grades 11 and 12 are IB with no non-IB alternatives. All courses in grades 9 and 10 are IB prep.

 

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Barnstable Community Horace Mann Charter School

• Grades: 3-7
• Address: 165 Bearses Way, Hyannis, MA 02601

Barnstable Community Innovation School is a Horace Mann charter school that blends that independence of charter schools with the traditional school district model. Part of the Barnstable Public School System, the school selects a curriculum designed to best meet the needs of students with project-based learning.

Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School

• Grades: 6-8
• Address: 195 MA-137, East Harwich, MA 02645

Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter is ranked #11 among Massachusetts charter middle schools with reading and math proficiency levels well above the Massachusetts average.

Private Schools on Cape Cod MA

There are about 17 Cape Cod private schools, most located in the Town of Barnstable and Bourne. Here are some of the best private schools on Cape Cod, MA.

• Falmouth Academy is a 7-12 co-ed college preparatory school
• Cape Cod Academy (CCA) is a K-12 college preparatory school in Osterville on a 46-acre campus
• Trinity Christian Academy of Cape Cod in Barnstable is an accredited PK-12 school on a 7-acre campus that helps students achieve academic excellence with a Christian worldview
• Cape Cod Christian Academy in Brewster combines the best attributes of homeschooling with a traditional school model with students spending 2-3 days per week in their classroom and other days at home
• St. John Paul II School is a Roman Catholic high school in Hyannis
• The Waldorf School in Sandwich fosters self-reliance and self-confidence from early childhood through middle school

Now that you understand your school options on Cape Cod, have you narrowed down the best town to call home? If you’re getting ready to relocate, give us a call at Vanguard Moving Services for a free, personalized moving estimate from our 5-star Cape Cod movers!