Carlyle Unit District One is headquartered in Carlyle, parochial grade schools are located in Hoffman and Breese and a parochial high school is located nearby in Breese. Residents have a choice of seven colleges and universities including Southern Illinois University, Carbondale , Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville , and the prestigious Washington University and St. Louis University in St. Louis. A community junior college, Kaskaskia College , also serves the community as an institution of higher learning and employer of area residents. Two additional four-year colleges, Greenville College and McKendree College in Lebanon, are within easy commuting distance. Carlyle Unit District One provides a quality educational system for students in Carlyle.
Buildings are modern and well maintained.
With the opening of a new junior high school in 1995, the schools are well equipped to accommodate future growth. The school district is noted for excellence in extra-curricular activities. The musical productions at Carlyle High School have featured top Broadway shows for many years and the school has always placed well in speech and scholar bowl competition in Southern Illinois. The district music department boasts numerous trophies for concert, show band, and marching competition. Carlyle High School was the first school in the state to win both the boy's football and basketball state championships in the same year, 1988-89.