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Quality of Life
Public Schools
Burke County has a county-wide public school system, providing greater efficiency and less duplication of services. There is no special school district tax. There is no cross-district busing.
For the 2005-2006 school year, the Burke County public schools enrollment exceeded 14,500 students. There are 16 elementary schools, five middle schools, and two high schools. At all grade levels, the curriculum in English/language arts, mathematics, social studies, physical education, health, music art, guidance, technology, and media skills follows the North Carolina Standard Course of Study. Approximately one-third of Burke County Public School teacher's have master's degrees.
For school year 2004-2005, Burke County's high school students averaged 42 points higher on their SAT's than the state average. Senior's combined score of 1052 ranked Burke County schools 13th out of the 116 North Carolina school systems.
Colleges & Universities
Chartered in 1964, the main campus of Western Piedmont Community College is located at the intersection of US 64 and I-40 in the southern section of Morganton. WPCC is accredited by The Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award the Associate Degree. With annual enrollments exceeding 13,000 students, Western Piedmont Community College has revised its "Master Campus Plan" to direct campus development into the twenty-first century.
Caldwell Community College, Catawba Valley Community College and McDowell Technical Community College are less than a 30 minute drive from Morganton. Lenoir-Rhyne College, a four year private institution, is less than 30 minutes from downtown Morganton. Appalachian State University in Boone and the University of North Carolina at Asheville are less than an hour away. Numerous universities including University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Western Carolina University in Cullowhee and Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem are within 100 miles of Burke County. Even NC State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are less than a three hour drive using I-40.
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