Original Research by School Decision on Burlington High School
Burlington High School sits in Vermont's most populous city, a regional college town anchored by the University of Vermont and Champlain College. The surrounding community is walkable and arts-oriented, with the Church Street Marketplace pedestrian mall as its commercial heart and a transformed waterfront connecting the city to Lake Champlain. The local economy runs on education, health services, and a mix of employers that includes Burton Snowboards, Dealer.com, and General Dynamics. For families considering this school, the setting matters: Burlington is an urban, progressive small city with deep civic infrastructure, and the high school reflects that character.
The school serves grades nine through twelve and is part of the Burlington School District. Its enrollment is large for a Vermont high school, and its student body is one of the most diverse in the state. White students form the majority, but a substantial Black population and meaningful Asian and multiracial representation give the school a peer environment that many Vermont schools do not offer. Nearly half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school in a different economic register than most of its Chittenden County neighbors. A parent looking for an urban public high school with genuine demographic and socioeconomic range will find that here. English learner and special education data were not available in the provided records, so families whose children need those services should ask the school directly about what is offered.
Academic performance data were not available in the sources reviewed. State assessment results, a four-year graduation rate, chronic absenteeism figures, and multi-year trend data all came back empty. Without those numbers, it is not possible to characterize the school's proficiency levels, whether students are trending up or down, or how its outcomes compare to other Chittenden County districts. The comparison set for this school is the county's districts, but the school's own metrics are missing, so no positioning is possible. This gap may reflect reporting delays or a transition period tied to the school's building project, but the data do not state a specific reason, and a parent would be right to ask the district for current results.
What the data do show is a district investing heavily in its physical and programmatic infrastructure. Burlington voters approved a bond to construct a new high school and technical center, and the project remains on schedule to open in fall 2026. The school has been operating from its Institute Road site during construction, and families enrolling now should understand that a newly built secondary campus is close to completion. The district also recently opened an Aviation, Career, and Technical Education Center in a renovated hangar at Burlington International Airport, housing automotive, design engineering and fabrication, and aviation programs. For a student interested in career and technical pathways, these offerings represent a real and growing strength. The Burlington Technical Center, which shares a campus with the high school, is the vehicle for much of this work.
The district has also taken a deliberate approach to discipline. It implemented a Restorative Code of Conduct aimed at reducing suspensions and eliminating racial disparities, and publicly reported that it achieved that goal for the first time. A parent concerned about equity in school discipline may want to look into how this framework functions day to day, but the stated commitment and the reported result are worth noting.
Housing in Burlington is expensive relative to both state and national benchmarks. Typical home values in the school's zip code sit above the Vermont median, and the price-to-income ratio indicates a stretched affordability picture for families buying into the area. Rents are also high, though renting remains somewhat more accessible than owning at current mortgage rates. The housing market has softened slightly in recent months, but the overall cost of living in Burlington remains a factor for families weighing a move into the district.
Burlington High School is a large, diverse, urban public high school in a city that punches above its weight on civic life and sustainability. Its academic outcomes could not be assessed from the available data, and that is a real limitation. What is clear is that the district is mid-transformation, with a new campus opening soon and expanded career and technical programs already operating. Families who value diversity, urban access, and hands-on pathways, and who are comfortable in a high-cost housing market, will find a school worth serious investigation.
See more original research from School Decision →