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Marvin Ridge High School

Waxhaw, NC 28173

Phone: (704) 290-1520
Fax: (704) 243-0012
District: Union County Public School District

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public • Grades 9,10,11,12 • 1941 students

Marvin Ridge High School, a public school located in Waxhaw, NC, serves grades 9-12 in the Union County Public School District.It has received a GreatSchools Rating of 9 out of 10, based on a variety of school quality measures.

Marvin Ridge High School is a public school located in Waxhaw, NC. 1941 students attend Marvin Ridge High School.

School Ratings

Category	Rating	Details
Test Scores	10/10	The Test Score Rating examines how students at this school performed on standardized tests compared with other schools in the state. The Test Rating was created using 2025 North Carolina End-of-Course Tests data from North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, and using 2025 North Carolina End-of-Grade Tests data from North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.
College Readiness	9/10	The College Readiness Rating uses this high school's graduation rates, college entrance exam participation and performance, or AP, IB, or Dual Enrollment participation to determine how well schools are preparing students for success in college and beyond. The College Readiness Rating was created using the following data from the 2021 Civil Rights Data Collection: percentage of students enrolled in IB, AP or Dual Enrollment classes in grades 9-12, using 2025 4-year high school graduation rate data from North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, using 2025 Average ACT score data from North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, using 2025 ACT percent college ready data from North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, and using 2025 demographic data from North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.
Student Growth	9/10	The Student Progress Rating measures whether students at this school are making academic progress over time based on student growth data provided by the Department of Education. Specifically, this rating looks at how much progress individual students have made on state assessments during the past year or more, how this performance aligns with expected progress based on a student growth model established by the state Department of Education, and how this school's growth data compares to other schools in the state. The Growth Rating was created using 2024 Student growth data from North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

Posted: April 27, 2025

A consistently top performing school in the state where iron sharpens iron. This is a highly sought after public school and that has not changed in the over twenty years weve lived in the area.

Family members have graduated from MRHS after being challenged to grow and excel and have gone on to very successful college and professional careers

Posted: October 28, 2024

The school follow the rules, the law and does everything by the book. It is worse than sending my child to Catholic school. This is my child's first year at the school. She is an A student and hates it here. We will be submitting the necessary paperwork soon to get my child into a different school. We may return to private school if necessary.

Posted: August 20, 2024

Marvin is a great school academically but not socially. I have found that an avocado amount of kids are rude and not interested in meeting new people. There are very distinct groups of people that hangout together. The only way to be a part of said groups was to go to elementary school with everyone. Bullying is really bad, everyone is super competitive, and the environment is fairly toxic. SOMEONE HAD A LOADED GUN AT SCHOOL AND THE ADMINISTRATION KNEW, BUT DIDNT TELL TEACHERS UNTIL 45 MINUTES AFTER. THIS DID NOT MAKE ME FEEL SAFE.

Posted: May 15, 2024

This school is not what you want. High test scores mean nothing when colleges compare you to the rest of your school. If you do well and take many APs, this means almost nothing as everyone here does. Sending your child here will not increase their rate of getting into good schools, quite the opposite actually.

Diversity here is also quite laughable. The Zero Tolerance Bullying Program is absolutely not put into practice. This school is too afraid of its rich parents to tackle the massive bullying problem by punishing students.

However, when it comes to you and your family versus the school itself, you will always be put second. If you have a conflict with the school that demonstrates where it lacks, security footage is mysteriously lost and its not unheard of for staff to try and randomly expel students (unsuccessfully as they apparently do need to submit proof of something).

The tax bracket of this place also does not prevent drug use. Weed and vapes are rampant, and the best way the school decided to tackle that is by sending teachers into bathrooms to look under stalls and see how many people are in them. Its seriously creepy and must somehow be illegal. It also has stopped nothing.

This school is pitiful in terms of administration and opportunity considering the student body.

Posted: December 2, 2022

Marvin Ridge does have a good curriculum and has achieved great things academically, but they are still lacking in a few areas I believe.
The bussing is fairly bad, though maybe it's understandable because of bus shortages, and the car traffic management isn't amazing. Also, the cultural atmosphere in the school is generally not that great, and it doesn't feel like there have been attempts to address it, such as bullying. Racism and queerphobia can be a bit commonplace sometimes, but that's what you can expect in many parts of the South anyway.

Either way, on an academic level I would mostly recommend sending your child here. There are quite a lot of clubs, various good classes they can choose from, and higher level options such as AP, IB, or dual enrollment through SPCC that can all serve to be great things.

Posted: October 4, 2020

Significant busing issues at MRHS. Bus stops are very far for students and there is a significant, long term issue with bus drivers. This may not be a good fit for you if you cannot provide your own transportation.

Posted: October 4, 2020

Posted: October 27, 2019

lots of support from teachers and administration

Posted: October 27, 2019

next to no bully issues, very positive environment

Posted: October 27, 2019

lots of homework but teachers and students collaborate

Posted: October 27, 2019

95% of teachers are awesome, over qualified and give 110% Love the teachers

Posted: October 27, 2019

Strong integrity and ethics is always valued

Posted: October 27, 2019

Love the AP and IB program. Dont care for lots of the coaches but love the principal and counselors and community. Wonderful experience for my kids to learn, grow and be well prepared for college while building a support group of friends and good memories! Thanks Marvin Ridge

Posted: October 22, 2019

Love Donna Cook and her staff and love the front desk and the counselors!

Posted: May 26, 2018

Marvin Ridge is referred to as being one of the best schools in the area by parents and community members. However, as a student, I would disagree with this on several aspects. I attended Marvin Ridge for all four years of high school. My educational experience was relatively decent; most of the teachers that I had seemed well educated and knowledgable in the curriculum. The teachers were patient and most were willing to work with myself as well as any other students who needed help with the curriculum. That being said, the school has a HUGE issue with bullying and racism. I witnessed multiple incidents of bullying and racial discrimination on a daily basis. Little to no effort was put in by faculty to resolve any of these issues, even when incidents of bullying/discrimination were presented to them, or when they occurred right in front of their own eyes. The school praises itself for it's anti-bullying policies, however I hardly ever saw any of such policies being enacted. It is very easy for parents to refer to this school as being one of "the best" high schools because of the academic statistics, however as a student who witnessed what happened within the walls of the school on a daily basis, I would not recommend sending your child to this school until such issues with bullying and racism are addressed and resolved.

Posted: April 29, 2017

My son has been mostly challenged by the amount of homework particularly in his AP classes

Posted: April 29, 2017

With very few exceptions, the teachers at Marvin Ridge are professional, engaged, and care a lot about their students.

Posted: April 29, 2017

The principal, Donna Cook, is that outstanding leader and gets to know as many parents and students as she can. I have been Regularly amazed at how many names of students and parents she remembers. At every sporting event, someone from the administration always attends.

Posted: April 29, 2017

Our overall experience with this high school has been outstanding. This is probably the best public high school in the Charlotte area.

Posted: December 13, 2015

The culture at this school needs work.There is a shocking amount of racism and homophobia among students. Both of my straight, WASP children have seen racial slurs used in front of staff with no corrections or reprimands by teachers. Pretty sickening and unacceptable in this day an age!

Posted: May 31, 2015

My daughter attended MRHS when Tim Conner was the principal. My daughter was bullied. The bullies did not receive consequences. She had to leave and get a GED. She still suffers from her abuse. I have heard of other incidents. This school did not protect my daughter. I don't know what might of happened if I didn't take her out. She currently has a 3.8 grade point average with college level courses.

Posted: May 31, 2015

Posted: June 7, 2014

Since I only attended MRHS for two years, take my rating with a grain of salt. MRHS is pretty good all around in athletics, academics, and extracurriculars. However, it is important to note that the grades are somewhat inflated. While is the instruction is without a doubt above average (most teachers have masters degrees), MRHS does not give students the necessary opportunities for students to be exceptional. Many students from MRHS are not exceptional at critical reading or writing (note the slightly above average SAT scores). In addition, MRHS does not offer many options in science or mathematics. While there is (or was, pretty sure it's gone now) a math club, MRHS did not participate in the AMC consistently. IN the years where they did participate, NONE of the students qualified for AIME (ok, maybe 1 or 2 by now). Many students are unaware of science fairs or research opportunities. The school does not pay the $75 (I think it was 75, not entirely sure) to participate in USABO, USNCO, or USAPhO despite having a pretty solid biology curriculum (Mrs. Walker is super good. Few students in the state get this kind of education). That being said, MRHS is still far above average.

Posted: December 28, 2013

Marvin Ridge High is the best! Our Academics succeed over many other schools in the district as well as the state. There is literally a club for almost everything and you can even start your own if you want. There is a lot of diversity and individuality here. Many people believe that Marvin Ridge is practically almost like a private school. There are so many courses available here as a student!

Posted: May 8, 2013

I have 2 kids at Marvin Ridge High school and its 5 stars! Teachers, staff, are like those at a private school. 100% graduation rate, very high college rate, great school!

Posted: October 31, 2012

Moved out of Charlotte just to get my duaghters into this school. did not like the way Charlotte schools were going and was not impressed by Charlottte Catholic. I have been very pleased with the outcome.

Reviews provided by GreatSchools^™

#	Name	Type	City	State	Overall Rating	Distance
1	Regent Park	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Fort Mill	SC		9.4 mi

#	Name	City	State	Overall Rating	Distance

Base	Distance
Charlotte Air National Guard	18.3 mi.

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Marvin Ridge High School

Waxhaw, NC 28173

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