Burlington Public Schools enrolled 3,457 students across six schools in the 2025-26 school year, according to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). This guide pulls together the latest state data on Burlington, MA schools, including enrollment by school, class sizes, spending, graduation rates and student demographics, for families who live in town or are thinking about moving there.
Key facts: Burlington Public Schools at a glance
- Enrollment (2025-26): 3,457 students, pre-K through grade 12 (DESE district profile).
- Schools: four elementary schools, one middle school and one high school.
- Teachers: 333.4 full-time equivalents, 99.4% licensed (statewide: 96.2%).
- Student-teacher ratio: 10.4 to 1, compared with 11.7 to 1 statewide.
- Four-year graduation rate (class of 2025): 93.5%.
- Superintendent: Dr. Eric M. Conti; central office at 123 Cambridge Street.
Enrollment by school
DESE’s 2025-26 enrollment report breaks the district down as follows:
- Burlington High School: 1,000 students: 912 in grades 9 through 12, 87 pre-kindergarten students that DESE counts under the high school, and one special-program student.
- Marshall Simonds Middle School: 826 students in grades 6 through 8.
- Francis Wyman Elementary: 503 students, the largest elementary school.
- Fox Hill Elementary: 420 students.
- Memorial Elementary: 369 students.
- Pine Glen Elementary: 339 students.
All 259 kindergarten students attend full-day kindergarten, according to the same DESE report. Grade sizes are fairly even, ranging from 219 in grades 9 and 12 to 296 in grade 4.
Who Burlington’s students are
The student body is more diverse than the town as a whole. The Census Bureau estimates that 75.2% of all Burlington residents are white alone, while in 2025-26, 57.0% of students were white, 19.1% Asian, 10.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.6% Black and 4.2% multiracial, DESE reported. Statewide, 7.6% of students are Asian, so Burlington’s Asian enrollment share is about two and a half times the state’s.
According to DESE’s selected populations data, 27.9% of Burlington students have a first language other than English, slightly above the state’s 27.3%. English learners make up 10.0% of students (state: 13.4%), low-income students 20.2% (state: 41.1%), and students with disabilities 15.4% (state: 21.1%). In all, 37.5% of students are classified as “high needs,” compared with 55.4% statewide.
The town around the schools is older and highly educated. The Census Bureau’s QuickFacts shows that 17.1% of residents are under 18, and that 58.4% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. About 21.0% of residents age 5 and older speak a language other than English at home.
Spending and staffing
Burlington spent $27,731.65 per pupil from all funds in fiscal 2024, up from $26,790.60 in fiscal 2023, according to DESE’s per-pupil expenditure report. Total spending was about $101.2 million. In-district spending, which excludes costs such as out-of-district special education placements, was $25,101.58 per pupil.
DESE’s teacher data report counts 333.4 full-time teachers in 2025-26, of whom 331.4 are licensed.
Graduation rates
Of the 247 students in Burlington’s class of 2025 cohort, 93.5% graduated in four years, 1.6% were still in school and 4.9% dropped out, according to DESE’s cohort 2025 graduation report. The adjusted cohort rate, which removes students who transferred in late, was 94.8%.
The data show wide gaps between groups. Asian and Black students graduated at 100%, and white students at 98.3%. Hispanic or Latino students graduated at 70.7%, English learners at 65.5%, low-income students at 82.4% and students with disabilities at 81.2%. Among Hispanic or Latino students, 24.4% dropped out.
How to read your school’s report card
Every Massachusetts public school and district receives an annual report card from the state. The district’s DESE profiles page links to report cards for the district and for each of its six schools. Families at schools that receive federal Title I funds have the right to ask whether their child’s teacher is licensed in the grade and subject taught, is working under an emergency license or waiver, and what degrees the teacher holds, along with information on any paraprofessionals who serve their child. The district says these requests go to the child’s principal.
The DESE profile pages also include MCAS results, attendance, discipline and class-size data for each school, and they can be compared with state averages. The main district office is at 123 Cambridge Street and can be reached at 781-270-1800.
What’s next for the high school
The biggest open question for the district is the Burlington High School building, which opened in the 1970s. After voters rejected a renovation and expansion plan in November 2025, the district reapplied for state aid, and the Massachusetts School Building Authority toured the school on Sept. 24. Our Burlington High School project update covers the timeline, and our Burlington property tax guide explains how school spending shows up on tax bills.
Families new to town may also want our Burlington fall news roundup, Burlington restaurant guide and Burlington Wegmans guide.
Sources
- DESE: Burlington district profile (contact information and enrollment)
- DESE: Enrollment Data 2025-26, Burlington
- DESE: Selected Populations 2025-26, Burlington
- DESE: Per Pupil Expenditures, Burlington
- DESE: Teacher Data 2025-26, Burlington
- DESE: Cohort 2025 Graduation Rates, Burlington
- Burlington Public Schools: DESE School and District Profiles
- U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Burlington town
Additional sources
Photo: Little Free Library in Burlington, MA, by John Phelan, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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