Education (K-12) and Special Needs

St. Louis prides itself on its award-winning school systems, which have produced countless successful graduates who have gone on to achieve fulfilling careers, thanks to the strong academic foundation they built growing up here.

The St. Louis area features several public school districts and numerous private elementary and secondary schools — including 45 Lutheran schools and more than 90 Catholic schools — ensuring that no matter where you live in the area, there are multiple options for quality education in a school that fits your needs.  

For additional information on independent schools, visit  the web site of Independent Schools of St. Louis, a non-profit professional association of 38 independently governed elementary and secondary schools throughout the St. Louis metropolitan area.

Although there are too many schools in the St. Louis area to list, highlighted below are the largest St. Louis area public school districts and the largest area independent private schools, ranked by the St. Louis Business Journal by 2004 enrollment.

Public School Districts

There are 161 different school districts in the St. Louis, MO-IL MSA and approximately 1,000 public schools. All districts are funded by local tax levies with varying assessment rates. Municipalities play a central role, with the local tax base of each school district funding new and existing educational programs and services, as well as providing maintenance and upkeep to the facilities.

Many St. Louis MSA schools provide additional programs for gifted students, special programs for challenged students, and magnet or charter schools for children seeking a non-traditional learning environment.

In 2007, eight public high schools in the St. Louis region were ranked on Newsweek's "Best Public High Schools in the Nation" list. The magazine ranked 1,288 public high schools (the top 5 percent) across America. The local schools and rankings are as follows: Metro Academic and Classical (139), Ladue-Horton Watkins (263), Clayton (321), Lafayette (601), Marquette (625), Rockwood Summit (675), Eureka (705) and Lindbergh (759).

Largest St. Louis Area Public School Districts 1. St. Louis Public Schools 2. Special School District of St. Louis County 3. Rockwood School District 4. Hazelwood School District 5. Parkway School District 6. Fort Zumwalt School District 7. Francis Howell School District 8. Ferguson-Florissant School District 9. Mehlville School District 10. Fox C-6 School District 11. East St. Louis School District 12. Wentzville School District 13. Riverview Gardens School District 14. Granite City Community Unit School District No. 9 15. Edwardsville Community Unit District No. 7 16. Alton Community Unit School District No. 11 17. Ritenour School District 18. Pattonville School District 19. Collinsville Unit No. 10 20. Normandy School District 21. School District of the City of St. Charles R-VI 22. Lindbergh School District 23. Kirkwood School District R-7 24. Cahokia Unit School District 187 25. Belleville Township High School District 201

Private School Districts

There are 434 private schools in the St. Louis MSA. Many long-established and strong independent schools exist, as well as an active parochial school network. The St. Louis region ranks among the highest in the nation for having one of the largest percentages of enrollment in Catholic parochial schools, as measured by the number of registered Catholics in the St. Louis area.

Largest St. Louis Area Independent Private Elementary Schools 1. Academy of the Sacred Heart 2. Mary Institute & St. Louis Country Day School 3. Villa Duchesne/Oak Hill School 4. Chesterfield Day School 5. New City School 6. Forsyth School 7. Community School 8. First Baptist Christian Academy 9. Gateway Academy 10. Andrews Academy 11. The College School 12. Rossman School 13. Visitation Academy 14. H.F. Epstein Hebrew Academy 15. Solomon Schecter Day School 16. Rohan Woods School 17. The Wilson School 18. Torah Prep School 19. Christian Academy of Greater St. Louis 20. Linda Vista Catholic School 21. The St. Michael School 22. Storman School 23. The Governor French Academy 24. The Churchill School 25. St. Louis Christian Academy

Largest St. Louis Area Independent Private Secondary Schools 1. De Smet Jesuit High School 2. Christian Brothers College High School 3. St. Louis University High School 4. MICDS 5. Chaminade College Preparatory School 6. Westminster Christian Academy 7. St. John Vianney 8. Ursuline Academy 9. St. Joseph’s Academy 10. Nerinx Hall High School 11. John Burroughs School 12. Cor Jesu Academy 13. Incarnate Word Academy 14. Visitation Academy 15. Whitfield School 16. Notre Dame High School 17. Villa Duchesne/Oak Hill School 18. St. Louis Priory School 19. Marquette Catholic High School 20. St. Elizabeth Academy 21. Crossroads School 22. Tower Grove Christian School 23. Gateway Academy 24. Logos School 25. Christian Academy of Greater St. Louis

Special Needs

In addition, the St. Louis Special School District (SSD) is one of the nation’s leading providers of special education services, educating more than 30,000 students. SSD provides services to students in 265 public schools in 23 districts in St. Louis, which allows 97 percent of the students who receive SSD services to attend a school in their local district.

St. Louis is home to several nationally renowned educational facilities for children with sight and hearing challenges.

• The St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf, founded in 1837, was the first school for the deaf west of the Mississippi, and became one of the first in the world to teach deaf children to talk. The school was also the first to offer an educational program for infants. St. Joseph, which draws families to St. Louis from all over the nation, continues its commitment to advanced oral education as a research partner to several universities in studies on deaf education.

• The Central Institute for the Deaf, established in 1914, is world-renowned for its innovative and comprehensive training of teachers. The country’s first deaf education teacher training program to affiliate with a university, it also began the country’s first master’s degree program in deaf education. Like St. Joseph, it draws families from all over the country.

• Founded by Jean Sachar Moog, St. Louis’ Moog Center for Deaf Education teaches deaf children to talk through an award-winning curriculum and serves as a model for Moog schools established in other cities. The center offers an oral school for children ages three to nine, and a family school for children under three and their families.

• Established in 1851, the Missouri School for the Blind became the first in the western hemisphere to teach the reading and writing of Braille. Today the school offers specialized courses in Braille, orientation, mobility and independent living skills. Students also experience work training in a competitive and supportive environment with local businesses.

For additional information on Higher Education in the St. Louis region, click here.