Olympic High School
Olympic High School, or Olympic for short, is a public high school within the Charlotte Mecklenburg School System that services the central southeastern area of Mecklenburg County. Located at 4301 Sandy Porter Road, Charlotte, NC 28273, the school is fed by the surrounding neighborhood of Steele Creek. Established in 1966, it is home to 2,607 students and 137 faculty. The school’s mascot is the Trojans.
Location
Olympic directly services the neighborhood of Steele Creek. This submarket is in the central southeastern region of Mecklenburg County and borders the school district lines with West Mecklenburg, Palisades, Harding, and South Mecklenburg. There has been steady development and growth within the Steele Creek area, with the main corridors along S Tryon St. and Steele Creek Rd. seeing the most action. The Rivergate Shopping Mall, located at the intersection of the previously mentioned highways, is a major center for shopping and entertainment in the neighborhood. Target, Home Depot, and Publix among chains have stores here, and thousands of residents frequent the shopping center daily. As of 2023, the median household income for the area’s ZIP of 28078 was $77,396. The median sales price for the area was $356,567 in September 2023. The area is accessed via I-485, Steele Creek Rd., S Tryon St., and Westinghouse Blvd.
Academics
Olympic services grades 9-12 and is generally considered a below-average school for academics in the Charlotte area. According to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NC DPI), 79.8% of all 2023 graduates finished school within 4 years. This is well behind the NC State average of 86%. Greatschools found that 94% of graduates also went on to attend public university for at least 2 years. This puts Olympic in an interesting spot for college readiness, as those who graduated on time went on to excel in higher education. The school also offers 15 AP courses, 0 STEM programs, 3 art courses, and 0 world language courses. Test scores for Math, English, and Biology were all behind state averages, the largest of which was Math 3 where Olympic students lagged behind the state average by 25%. As of 2023, there are 137 teachers at Olympic High School, resulting in a Student / Teacher Ratio of 19-1.
Test Scores
Average SAT Test Scores: 2022-2023
Olympic High School students were relatively underprepared for the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) in 2023. According to the NC DPI, students were outperformed by their CMS and State counterparts in the Reading and Math portions of the exam. Olympic students did come in above average on the National level, beating scores by an average of 5.7% across both sections. This information points to the school being below average for North Carolina as well as the Charlotte area when preparing students for higher education. However, it is better than the average National high school. The SAT participation rate for the school was 19.40%.
Average ACT Test Scores: 2022-2023
Olympic prepared its students poorly for the Aptitude and Critical Thinking test (ACT). Average 2023 scores for English, Math, Reading, and Science were all below those of their CMS, State, and National counterparts. The largest disadvantage was in English, where Olympic students were outscored by their CMS counterparts by 31.0% on average.
4-Graduation Rate
Graduation Rate: 2018-2023
The 4-Year Graduation Rate at Olympic High School has seen a relative decline since 2019. After peaking at 91.9% in 2019, the school has seen graduation numbers slip every year since. This is likely due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, as the school dealt with the transition to online learning. Only the most recent class of 2023 was an exception to this decline, as the students graduating in 4 years saw an increase year-over-year of about 2.3% from 2022. Hopefully, this short-term trend continues and Olympic can continue to increase its graduation rate.
Food Assistance Programs
Olympic High School, as well as all CMS schools, provides meals for underprivileged students via the CMS School Nutrition Services system. This service provides both breakfast and lunch options to students across Mecklenburg County. According to Mecklenburg County Public Health, approximately 15% of households are food insecure, so this program is a welcome addition to Olympic’s cafeteria.
How to Enroll
If you are interested in enrolling at Olympic High School, there are a few things you need:
Use the CMS Geoportal to confirm your place of residence is within the appropriate school district here.
Compile documents necessary for enrollment. These requirements can be found here.
Download and complete the enrollment packet. Can be found on the far right side of the page here.
Submit your application to the school. This is required to be done in person and typically by appointment.
