Hough High, Cornelius: Huntersville zone, report card and calendar

Last checked Oct. 12, 2026. Sources: the school’s website and its principal page, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ 2026-27 bell schedule, 2026-27 calendar (PDF) and Student Placement page, CMS’s current school assignment data for Mecklenburg County parcels, the N.C. Department of Public Instruction’s 2025-26 accountability data and 2024-25 report card data, the NCHSAA’s 2025-29 realignment and the federal NCES school directory.

William Amos Hough High School is a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) high school for grades 9 to 12 at 12420 Bailey Road in Cornelius, about four miles north of downtown Huntersville. It is listed here because its zone takes in about a quarter of the home parcels in Huntersville, mostly the Huntersville Elementary area around downtown and the north of town. CMS lists it as W.A. Hough or Hough High.

Who to call

• Front office: 980-344-0514, 12420 Bailey Road, Cornelius
• School website: williamamoshoughhs.cmsk12.org
• Enrolling, transfers and school assignment: CMS Student Placement, 980-343-5335; Student Placement page
• Which school is my address zoned for? The county’s GeoPortal school lookup
• Buses: CMS Transportation call center, 980-343-6715, weekdays 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (transportation page)

Principal

Principal David Farley, according to the school’s principal page. The page says he has been at Hough for 10 years, five of them as principal, and earlier worked at North Mecklenburg High.

Enrollment and teachers

• State count: an average daily membership of 2,468 students in the 2024-25 school year, according to the state’s report card data.
• Federal count: 2,503 students in the 2023-24 school year, with 117 full-time-equivalent teachers, according to the NCES directory. That is about 21 students per teacher.

State report card

North Carolina gives every public school, charter schools included, an A to F School Performance Grade. The grade is based 80% on student achievement and 20% on academic growth, according to the state’s 2025-26 annual testing report. For a high school, achievement also counts end-of-course tests, the ACT or WorkKeys, NC Math 3 and the four-year graduation rate.

The grades come from the N.C. Department of Public Instruction’s accountability data, released in September for 2025-26. From the state’s 2025-26 assessment and indicator data:

• At grade level or above, end-of-course tests: 82.9% (CMS, all state tests: 60.9%; state: 59.2%)
• College and career ready (Level 4 and above): 62.8%
• ACT composite of 17 or higher (11th graders): 75.7%
• Growth: exceeded expected growth
• Four-year graduation rate: above 95% (the state masks exact rates above 95%; CMS: 88.1%)

The full report card, with attendance, teacher and course data, is on the state’s NC School Report Cards site under state school code 600312.

Attendance zone and feeder schools

CMS assigns students to schools by home address, and zones do not follow town limits. Check an address with the county’s GeoPortal school lookup or the CMS 2026-27 feeder boundaries map.

In CMS’s current assignment data, which lists the zoned schools for every home parcel in Mecklenburg County:

• Middle school zone that feeds it: Bailey Middle in Cornelius.
• Elementary zones that feed Bailey: Cornelius, Davidson, Huntersville and J.V. Washam.

Inside Huntersville, Hough’s zone covers about 25% of the parcels inside town limits, by our count of the CMS assignment data against the county’s jurisdiction map: nearly all of the Huntersville Elementary zone, plus the parts of town in the J.V. Washam and Davidson elementary zones. Most of the rest of town is zoned for Hopewell High or North Mecklenburg High.

Boundary review: CMS is redrawing school boundaries after its 2024 comprehensive review. The final boundary plan goes to the Board of Education on Monday, Oct. 26, with a public hearing Tuesday, Nov. 10, and a board vote Tuesday, Dec. 8, according to the district’s review page. No new boundaries had been approved as of Oct. 12.

Calendar and bell times

• Wednesday, Oct. 14: early release day; the first quarter ends Friday, Oct. 30.
• Nov. 2-3: teacher workdays, no school for students. Wednesday, Nov. 11: Veterans Day, no school.
• Thanksgiving: teacher workday Wednesday, Nov. 25, then the break Nov. 26-27.
• Winter break: Dec. 21 to Jan. 1. Spring break is March 29 to April 2, and the last day of school is Wednesday, June 9, 2027.

The dates come from the CMS 2026-27 traditional calendar (PDF). School runs 7:15 a.m. to 2:15 p.m., according to the district’s 2026-27 bell schedule.

Sports and activities

Hough is an 8A school in the NCHSAA’s 7A/8A Conference D for the 2025-29 alignment, with Hopewell (7A), West Mecklenburg (7A), Garinger (8A), Myers Park (8A) and South Mecklenburg (8A), according to the approved realignment. The teams are the Huskies.

The school’s athletics site lists teams in:

• Boys: baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, indoor track, lacrosse, rugby, soccer, swimming, tennis, track, volleyball, wrestling
• Girls: basketball, competitive cheer, cross country, field hockey, flag football, golf, indoor track, lacrosse, rugby, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track, volleyball, wrestling

Friday scores and schedules: our Friday night football page and the Huntersville scoreboard.

More

• The school’s own website and the CMS school directory
• Every public school in Huntersville, with zones and report cards
• Our Huntersville schools guide for the school board, enrollment and the district calendar
• Which schools serve each part of town: our Huntersville neighborhoods guide

Frequently asked questions

Is Hough High in Huntersville?

No. The school is at 12420 Bailey Road in Cornelius, but its zone covers about a quarter of the home parcels in Huntersville, including the Huntersville Elementary area.

What is Hough High’s school grade?

William Amos Hough High earned an A, with a score of 88, in North Carolina’s 2025-26 School Performance Grades, up from a B (84) in 2024-25.

Which middle school feeds Hough High?

Bailey Middle in Cornelius, which takes students from the Cornelius, Davidson, Huntersville and J.V. Washam elementary zones, according to CMS’s current school assignment data.

What time does Hough High start?

Hough runs from 7:15 a.m. to 2:15 p.m., according to the CMS 2026-27 bell schedule.

What conference is Hough High in?

Hough is an 8A school in the NCHSAA’s 7A/8A Conference D for the 2025-29 alignment, with Hopewell. Its teams are the Huskies.