By type & area
Schools Through Grade 12 in Downtown, West & Southeast Raleigh
9 schools through grade 12 in Downtown, West & Southeast Raleigh, 7 of them on the 2026-27 Direct Payment list. Inside and just outside the Beltline: Cardinal Gibbons and the Cathedral parish school, two Islamic schools near NC State, an Episcopal girls' school, Grace and Wake Christian, and several small specialty programs.
About this data. School facts come from the NCES Private School Survey (2023-24, plus 2021-22 rows for schools that skipped the latest round). The Direct Payment flag comes from matching names, by county and with code, against the NCSEAA Direct Payment Schools table for 2026-27, downloaded October 30, 2026. Schools found only on the state list show a name and town and nothing else. Neither source reports tuition, so ask the school.
Funding note: A senior's award comes from the same tier table as a kindergartner's. Eleventh and twelfth graders can also sign up for tuition-free classes at Wake Tech, Durham Tech or Johnston Community College.
| School | Affiliation | Area | Grades | Direct Payment 2026-27 | Students (federal survey) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardinal Gibbons High School 1401 Edwards Mill Rd, Raleigh 27607 | Catholic | Downtown, West & Southeast Raleigh | 9-12 | ✓ Listed | 1,590 |
| Fusion Academy Raleigh 2418 Blue Ridge Rd Ste 200, Raleigh 27607 | Independent | Downtown, West & Southeast Raleigh | 6-12 | ✓ Listed | 101 |
| Grace Christian School 801 Buck Jones Rd, Raleigh 27606 | Christian | Downtown, West & Southeast Raleigh | K-12 | ✓ Listed | 874 |
| Learn With the Best School 4900 Waters Edge Dr Ste 100, Raleigh 27606 | Independent | Downtown, West & Southeast Raleigh | 1-12 | ✓ Listed | 36 |
| Raleigh Christian Academy 2110 Trawick Rd, Raleigh 27604 | Christian | Downtown, West & Southeast Raleigh | PK-12 | ✓ Listed | 228 |
| St. Mary's School 900 Hillsborough St, Raleigh 27603 | Christian | Downtown, West & Southeast Raleigh | 9-12 | Not listed | 306 |
| Wake Christian Academy 5500 Wake Academy Dr, Raleigh 27603 | Christian | Downtown, West & Southeast Raleigh | K-12 | ✓ Listed | 926 |
| Wake Monarch Academy 824 N Bloodworth St, Raleigh 27604 | Independent | Downtown, West & Southeast Raleigh | 9-12 | ✓ Listed | 12 |
| Word of God Christian Academy 3000 Rock Quarry, Raleigh 27610 | Christian | Downtown, West & Southeast Raleigh | 6-12 | Not listed | 93 |
| A ✓ on the Direct Payment column tells you | It does not tell you |
|---|---|
| NCSEAA can send Opportunity Scholarship and ESA+ money to this school for 2026-27 | That a seat is open or that your child will be admitted |
| The award goes to required tuition and fees, up to your tier amount | That the award will cover the full bill |
| The school accepted NCSEAA's testing and audit rules for scholarship students | Whether the school is accredited, which the state table does not show |
Find out which programs your child can use
About two minutes of questions. Then a Raleigh Edu Funding advisor phones you with an estimated tier, the programs that match and the deadlines coming up.