schoolsbycounty

State district guide

Delaware public school districts

Compare district systems across Delaware by enrollment scale, school count, county context, generated guide coverage, and the parent checks that matter before choosing where to live.

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Direct answer for parents

What this district ranking can and cannot tell you

If you are searching for the best school districts in Delaware, start with the largest and most data-rich district systems below, then verify the specific school assigned to each address. SchoolsByCounty orders districts by reported enrollment and school count because those fields are consistent in NCES. It does not convert district size into a quality rating.

Start with scale

Red Clay Consolidated School District

14,771 reported students

Check county context

New Castle County

71/100 county score

Verify locally

Address fit

Attendance boundaries and transfers are not in NCES

District table

Largest public school districts in Delaware

The first 60 rows show the largest district systems by reported enrollment. Open district guides where available, or use the county profile when a detailed district page is not generated yet.

42 districts in state file

Delaware public school districts ranked by reported enrollment.
RankDistrictStudents
1
Red Clay Consolidated School District

LEA ID 1001300

New Castle County28 schools
14,771
2
Christina School District

LEA ID 1000200

New Castle County28 schools
13,092
3
Appoquinimink School District

LEA ID 1000080

New Castle County20 schools
12,804
4
Indian River School District

LEA ID 1000680

Sussex County16 schools
10,799
5
Brandywine School District

LEA ID 1001240

New Castle County17 schools
10,367
6
Colonial School District

LEA ID 1000230

New Castle County15 schools
9,132
7
Caesar Rodney School District

LEA ID 1000180

Kent County15 schools
8,286
8
Capital School District

LEA ID 1000190

Kent County13 schools
6,396
9
Cape Henlopen School District

LEA ID 1000170

Sussex County9 schools
6,336
10
Smyrna School District

LEA ID 1001620

Kent County8 schools
6,067
11
New Castle County Vocational-Technical School District

LEA ID 1001280

New Castle County4 schools
4,688
12
Milford School District

LEA ID 1001080

Sussex County6 schools
4,470
13
Lake Forest School District

LEA ID 1000790

Kent County7 schools
3,611
14
Seaford School District

LEA ID 1001530

Sussex County7 schools
3,410
15
Newark Charter School

LEA ID 1000015

New Castle County1 school
2,987
16
Laurel School District

LEA ID 1000810

Sussex County4 schools
2,598
17
Woodbridge School District

LEA ID 1001850

Sussex County4 schools
2,494
18
Odyssey Charter School

LEA ID 1000026

New Castle County1 school
2,123
19
Delmar School District

LEA ID 1000270

Sussex County3 schools
1,427
20
MOT Charter School

LEA ID 1000019

New Castle County1 school
1,383
21
Las Americas Aspira Academy

LEA ID 1000050

New Castle County1 school
1,341
22
Sussex Technical School District

LEA ID 1001680

Sussex County1 school
1,292
23
POLYTECH School District

LEA ID 1000750

Kent County1 school
1,203
24
Sussex Academy

LEA ID 1000011

Sussex County1 school
1,118
25
Charter School of Wilmington

LEA ID 1000004

New Castle County1 school
968
26
Charter School of New Castle

LEA ID 1000024

New Castle County1 school
752
27
Providence Creek Academy Charter School

LEA ID 1000018

Kent County1 school
730
28
Academia Antonia Alonso

LEA ID 1000053

New Castle County1 school
718
29
Kuumba Academy Charter School

LEA ID 1000014

New Castle County1 school
643
30
Edison (Thomas A.) Charter School

LEA ID 1000010

New Castle County1 school
632
31
First State Montessori Academy

LEA ID 1000054

New Castle County1 school
629
32
Delaware Military Academy

LEA ID 1000016

New Castle County1 school
584
33
Early College High School at Del State

LEA ID 1000055

Kent County1 school
519
34
East Side Charter School

LEA ID 1000006

New Castle County1 school
472
35
Freire Charter School Wilmington

LEA ID 1000059

New Castle County1 school
450
36
First State Military Academy

LEA ID 1000057

Kent County1 school
439
37
Academy of Dover Charter School

LEA ID 1000017

Kent County1 school
411
38
Sussex Montessori School

LEA ID 1000063

Sussex County1 school
403
39
Campus Community School

LEA ID 1000007

Kent County1 school
402
40
Great Oaks Charter School

LEA ID 1000062

New Castle County1 school
217
41
Gateway Charter School

LEA ID 1000052

New Castle County1 school
186
42
Positive Outcomes Charter School

LEA ID 1000005

Kent County1 school
115

— = enrollment not reported in the district record. District rows are informational and must be paired with local assignment tools before a housing decision.

Methodology

How to use district rankings without overreading them

District-level data is useful because it shows the operating system around a public school search: how many schools exist, which county record anchors the district, how much enrollment is reported, and whether a detailed district guide is available. It is not enough to decide where a student should enroll.

Ranking basis

Rows are ordered by reported enrollment, then school count. The method favors broad, data-rich systems because those are the districts parents most often need to research before relocation.

County context

Each district is attached to a primary county record when available. County school scores are context signals, not district ratings, and nearby counties can still matter for commute and housing decisions.

Grade pathway

Elementary, middle, and high school counts help parents spot whether a district looks like a full K-12 pathway or a narrower operating unit. Feeder patterns still require local verification.

Address verification

The final decision happens at the address level. Confirm attendance zones, open-enrollment rules, magnet admissions, charter lotteries, and transfer windows with official district sources.

County context

Districts anchored in higher-scoring county contexts

These rows pair district records with the county-level SchoolsByCounty score. Treat this as a shortlist for deeper research, not a district quality ranking.

Red Clay Consolidated School District

New Castle County

71

Students
14,771
Schools
28
Open district guide

Christina School District

New Castle County

71

Students
13,092
Schools
28
Open district guide

Appoquinimink School District

New Castle County

71

Students
12,804
Schools
20
Open district guide

Brandywine School District

New Castle County

71

Students
10,367
Schools
17
Open district guide

Colonial School District

New Castle County

71

Students
9,132
Schools
15
Open district guide

New Castle County Vocational-Technical School District

New Castle County

71

Students
4,688
Schools
4
Open district guide

Parent checklist before relying on a district ranking

Use this page to narrow the field, then answer these local questions before treating any district as a fit for a specific home.

Which school does this address actually feed into?

Use the district address lookup and confirm edge cases near attendance-zone borders.

What happens at transition grades?

A strong elementary fit can split into several middle or high school paths.

Are choice programs realistic for this student?

Magnet, charter, virtual, and transfer options can involve lotteries, applications, or deadlines.

Is the county context aligned with housing tradeoffs?

Pair school research with taxes, commute, home prices, and safety before choosing where to live.

Frequently Asked Questions About Delaware School Districts

What are the best school districts in Delaware?
Red Clay Consolidated School District, Christina School District, Appoquinimink School District are the largest Delaware district systems by reported enrollment in the NCES file. SchoolsByCounty does not call them the best districts; use this page to find data-rich district systems, then verify assigned schools, program rules, and local fit.
How are Delaware districts ranked here?
Districts are ordered by reported student enrollment, then school count, using NCES public school district records. This is a research-priority ranking, not a quality rating.
Why do only 14 Delaware districts have district guide links?
SchoolsByCounty statically generates detailed district guides for the largest district systems nationally so the pages stay fast and substantive. Districts without guide links remain represented through county and state context pages.
Do these district pages show attendance boundaries?
No. Attendance zones, transfer rules, magnet eligibility, charter admission, transportation, and program availability must be verified with official district or local assignment tools before choosing a home.
Does a large district mean better schools?
No. Larger districts usually have more school options and more public data, but enrollment size is not a school-quality measure. Compare school-level records and official local sources before treating a district as a fit.
How many districts are included for Delaware?
This page includes 42 Delaware public school districts from the current NCES district file, alongside county context and generated district-guide availability where available.
By Evan Brooks, Data EditorPublished

Data Sources

Education data sourced from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Common Core of Data and School District Finance Survey. School scores are derived composite metrics based on available NCES graduation-rate and school-finance signals.

Data is informational only. Coverage varies by county and reporting year. Not for use as the sole basis for educational decisions.

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