Best Public Schools in Zip Code 62881

Schools in zip code 62881 include four schools serving prekindergarten through grade 12: Hawthorn Elementary School (K–3), Franklin Park Middle School (4–8), Selmaville Elementary School (PK–8), and Salem Community High School (9–12). The clearest area-wide pattern is stronger English language arts (ELA) than math at the three non-high schools: their average All Grades ELA result was 67%, 11 points above the state, while their average math result was 36%, 4 points below it. Results vary sharply by school and subject, so there is no single school that leads across the board.

Selmaville Elementary School led All Grades ELA at 72%, followed by Franklin Park Middle School at 70% and Hawthorn Elementary School at 59%; the gap between the highest and lowest was 13 points. Math reversed that order: Hawthorn scored 50%, compared with 30% at Selmaville and 27% at Franklin Park. Franklin Park also had especially strong ELA in grades 5–8 and scored 62% in grade 8 science, 10 points above the state. At Salem Community High School, ACT ELA was just above the state, but ACT math and science were 11 and 12 points below; its 95% graduation rate was 5 points above the state.

Results improved notably at Selmaville: from 2024–25 to 2025–26, All Grades ELA rose 26 points and math rose 13, while grade 5 science increased 40 points. Hawthorn’s ELA rose 12 points, but math fell 4; Franklin Park’s ELA rose 4 points and math fell 1. Salem’s ACT math and science gaps widened over the same period. SchoolDigger’s 2025–26 rankings put Selmaville at the 66th percentile, Franklin Park at the 61st, and Salem at the 33rd; across three years, Selmaville rose 32 percentile points, while Franklin Park fell 16 and Salem fell 36. In 2024–25, free/reduced lunch eligible shares were 49% at Selmaville, 55% at Franklin Park, 63% at Hawthorn, and 45% at Salem; these are contextual figures, not explanations for results. Because grade spans differ, All Grades comparisons are descriptive.