Schools · Southwest Harbor

Southwest Harbor, ME schools

Southwest Harbor’s public schools score well above Maine’s averages: 92% of students are proficient in reading against 85% statewide, and 92% of high schoolers graduate on time against 86.8%. Kids attend Pemetic Elementary School through grade 8, then Mt Desert Island High School.

Grades, test scores, graduation, spending and every school, from U.S. Department of Education data.

TownTapestry School GradeNew

Southwest Harbor’s School Grade: A

The public schools Southwest Harbor’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, outperform 89% of Maine’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they rank near the top.

ATest scoresB+Graduation
Maine school districts we grade (176)Better than 89%
Lower resultsHigher results
Maine towns with similar household incomes (285)Better than 98%
Towns in Hancock County (30)Better than 83%
Good confidence. Built on 169 tested students and a graduating class of 123; ordinary year-to-year swings are unlikely to change the grade.
How the School Grade works
  • Results, not inputs. Math and reading proficiency on Maine’s state tests, each against the state average, plus the four-year graduation rate. Spending and class size are shown below but don’t count toward the grade. Tests: 2020–21; graduation: class of 2020.
  • The whole path. A town’s grade follows its kids: every district that serves it, weighted by the number of students tested in each. Tests count 60% and graduation 40%.
  • Graded within the state. Each state writes its own tests, so districts are lined up against the rest of Maine only. A+ top 5%A next 10%A- next 10%B B+ to B−, next 30%C C+ to C−, next 30%D D and D−, bottom 15%
  • Individual schools are graded the same way on their own test results, against every public school in Maine with 25+ students. Private schools aren’t graded: they don’t take the state tests.
  • What a grade can’t tell you. Test results track family income closely, so a high grade partly reflects who lives in a town. That’s why we also compare towns with similar incomes. Visit, ask other parents, and read neighbor reviews. It’s our own summary of U.S. Department of Education data, not an official rating.
School path

Where Southwest Harbor kids go to school

Grades PK–8
B+Pemetic Elementary School 127 students · Southwest Harbor Southwest Harbor school district
Grades 9–12
A+Mt Desert Island High School 453 students · Bar Harbor Mount Desert Community School District

Based on district boundaries from the U.S. Department of Education. Check with the district before you enroll.

Test scores · 2020–21

Well above the state in reading

Reading (grades 9–12, Mount Desert Community)97.5%
State average 85%
Reading (grades PK–8, Southwest Harbor school district)92%
State average 85%
Math (grades 9–12, Mount Desert Community)97.5%
State average 81.3%
Math (grades PK–8, Southwest Harbor school district)87%
State average 81.3%
Graduation · class of 2020

92% graduate on time

Graduation rate
92%
ME: 86.8%
Graduating class
123
students

The share of students who started ninth grade together and earned a regular diploma within four years.

Districts

Two districts serve Southwest Harbor

Each district’s own page has its spending, test scores, enrollment and every school.

Every school

All 1 school in Southwest Harbor

Showing 1–1 of 1 school

School data from the U.S. Department of Education (NCES). Ratings are from neighbors on TownTapestry.

Also serving Southwest Harbor

Schools Southwest Harbor kids attend in other towns

Public schools in Southwest Harbor’s district that are located in Bar Harbor.

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Southwest Harbor

Maine · ME · Hancock County
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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01