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Best Public Schools in Kinston, NC

At a glance

Schools

5,181

Students

Top rankedLenoir County Early College High116^th of 662 North Carolina high schools

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Biggest riser

Northwest Elementary up 135 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Southwood Elementary 11.4 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

4★

3★

2★

1★

0★

1 school without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

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Summary:

The city of Kinston, North Carolina, is home to 12 schools in Lenoir County Public Schools, including 7 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, 2 high schools, and 1 alternative school, serving roughly 5,181 students. Nearly every school in this high-poverty area has free/reduced lunch eligibility between roughly 95% and 99.6%, which makes the wide differences in school performance especially noteworthy.

A few schools stand out as particularly strong. Moss Hill Elementary is the district's highest-performing elementary school, ranking in the 83rd percentile of North Carolina elementary schools with 4 stars; despite 99.2% poverty, it posted 4th-grade math proficiency of 89.8% versus the state's 61.4%. Banks Elementary is also strong, improving from the 45th to 65th percentile since 2023-2024. At the secondary level, Lenoir County Early College High outperforms the state in every tested subject, with Math III proficiency of 97.0% and Biology of 86.7%. Woodington Middle is the top traditional middle school, topping district averages in every tested grade and subject.

Yet the contrasts within this single district are dramatic. Northeast Elementary and Southeast Elementary rank in the bottom 11% of the state; 4th-grade math proficiency is 89.8% at Moss Hill but just 25.3% at Northeast. Rochelle Middle ranks in the bottom 7% of North Carolina middle schools, while Woodington sits above the median. The high school gap is starker still: Early College posts 63.3% Math I proficiency versus just 6.3% at Kinston High, even though Kinston High's 91.1% graduation rate exceeds the state average. Chronic absenteeism tracks these outcomes, ranging from roughly 18–22% at higher-performing schools to 37–57% at lower-performing ones. Lenoir County Learning Academy, the alternative school, spends the most per student ($18,901) yet has the greatest challenges, including 57.2% chronic absenteeism. The success of high-poverty schools like Moss Hill and Early College proves that school-level factors can make a profound difference.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Vaccination Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				EOC Biology (2026)	EOC English II (2026)	EOC Math I (2026)	EOC Math III (2026)	EOG Mathematics (2026)						EOG Reading (2026)						EOG Science (2026)		Vaccination (2025-26)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	EOC Biology End of Course	EOC English II End of Course	EOC Math I End of Course	EOC Math III End of Course	EOG Mathematics 3rd Grade	EOG Mathematics 4th Grade	EOG Mathematics 5th Grade	EOG Mathematics 6th Grade	EOG Mathematics 7th Grade	EOG Mathematics 8th Grade	EOG Reading 3rd Grade	EOG Reading 4th Grade	EOG Reading 5th Grade	EOG Reading 6th Grade	EOG Reading 7th Grade	EOG Reading 8th Grade	EOG Science 5th Grade	EOG Science 8th Grade	Vaccination: Kindergartners up to date on all required vaccines	Vaccination: Exemption rate	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Kinston High	Public	9-12	2601 N Queen St	Kinston	28501	Lenoir County	Lenoir County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 527-8067	659	41	16.0	—	16 (2.4%)	573 (86.9%)	33 (5.0%)	8 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	27 (4.1%)	6	623^rd of 662 public high schools	5.9%		8.7	604^th of 641 public high schools	5.8%	19	20.0	37.4	6.3	31.0																	$10,743	$1,412	$9,331
Northwest Elementary	Public	K-5	1701 Old Well Rd	Kinston	28504	Lenoir County	Lenoir County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 527-5143	504	31	16.2	—	35 (6.9%)	374 (74.2%)	41 (8.1%)	19 (3.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	35 (6.9%)	51.3	710^th of 1492 public elementary schools	52.4%		44.1	845^th of 1490 public elementary schools	43.3%	135					65.3	47.2	68.9				44.0	51.4	56.8				86.5		91.7%	0%	$8,808	$1,369	$7,440
Rochelle Middle	Public	6-8	301 N Rochelle Blvd	Kinston	28501	Lenoir County	Lenoir County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 527-4290	517	26	20.0	96.9%	9 (1.7%)	448 (86.7%)	29 (5.6%)	8 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	22 (4.3%)	10.1	723^rd of 778 public middle schools	7.1%		15.5	681^st of 773 public middle schools	11.9%	42								30.1	23.3	10.6				38.2	28.0	30.4		54.9			$11,035	$1,690	$9,345
Southeast Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	201 McDaniels Street	Kinston	28501	Lenoir County	Lenoir County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 527-4210	326	24	13.5	96.9%	24 (7.4%)	269 (82.5%)	17 (5.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (4.9%)	17.3	1329^th of 1492 public elementary schools	10.9%		18.8	1298^th of 1490 public elementary schools	12.9%	31					13.5	48.5	29.2				24.3	39.4	58.3				54.2		63.8%	0%	$12,465	$2,728	$9,737
Banks Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2148 Falling Creek Rd	Kinston	28504	Lenoir County	Lenoir County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 527-9470	436	32	13.5	—	167 (38.3%)	151 (34.6%)	87 (20.0%)	5 (1.1%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (5.7%)	64.2	515^th of 1492 public elementary schools	65.5%		63.3	507^th of 1490 public elementary schools	66.0%	8					72.1	60.7	70.3				55.9	62.3	57.8				78.1				$9,503	$1,056	$8,446
Contentnea-Savannah School	Public	PK, KG-8	3400 Ferrell Road	Kinston	28501	Lenoir County	Lenoir County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 527-8591	789	55	14.2	—	249 (31.6%)	362 (45.9%)	144 (18.3%)	5 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	28 (3.5%)	42	877^th of 1492 public elementary schools	41.2%		39.5	927^th of 1490 public elementary schools	37.8%	50					60.0	59.5	57.5	46.8	27.5	31.6	46.3	55.4	46.6	48.6	38.2	43.2	75.3	57.9	96%	0%	$9,328	$1,658	$7,670
Moss Hill Elementary	Public	K-5	6040 Hwy 55 West	Kinston	28504	Lenoir County	Lenoir County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 569-5071	371	28	13.2	—	214 (57.7%)	64 (17.3%)	74 (19.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (5.1%)	79.4	249^th of 1492 public elementary schools	83.3%		84.3	186^th of 1490 public elementary schools	87.5%	63					73.3	89.8	68.7				65.0	78.0	62.7				83.6		95%	3.3%	$9,954	$1,536	$8,418
Southwood Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1245 Hwy 58 South	Kinston	28504	Lenoir County	Lenoir County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 527-9081	218	19	11.4	—	140 (64.2%)	34 (15.6%)	32 (14.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (5.5%)	49.1	744^th of 1492 public elementary schools	50.1%		50.7	739^th of 1490 public elementary schools	50.4%	5					67.6	50.0	75.0				58.8	44.4	47.2				69.4		100%	0%	$10,722	$2,082	$8,640
Woodington Middle	Public	6-8	4939 Hwy 258 South	Kinston	28504	Lenoir County	Lenoir County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 527-9570	584	35	16.8	—	289 (49.5%)	111 (19.0%)	144 (24.7%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	37 (6.3%)	53.7	361^st of 778 public middle schools	53.6%		38.2	483^rd of 773 public middle schools	37.5%	122								54.7	59.9	50.5				58.0	55.1	54.1		71.6			$8,277	$1,227	$7,051
Lenoir County Learning Academy	Public, Alternative	PK, KG-12	2529 Cedar Dell Lane	Kinston	28504	Lenoir County	Lenoir County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 527-4264	66	10	6.7	95.5%	17 (25.8%)	33 (50.0%)	4 (6.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (16.7%)								(n/a)	341.1	538.9	7.1	540.4					536.0	< 5%					7.7	9.1		336.5			$18,901	$1,991	$16,911
Lenoir County Early College High	Public	9-12	231 Hwy 58 South	Kinston	28502	Lenoir County	Lenoir County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(252) 233-6870	246	8	29.8	—	101 (41.1%)	58 (23.6%)	68 (27.6%)	12 (4.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (2.8%)	83.9	116^th of 662 public high schools	82.5%		89.4	83^rd of 641 public high schools	87.1%	33	86.7	82.5	63.3	97.0																	$8,270	$445	$7,825
Northeast Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1002 E Highland Ave	Kinston	28501	Lenoir County	Lenoir County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 527-4166	465	27	17.2	—	11 (2.4%)	412 (88.6%)	23 (4.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	18 (3.9%)	17.7	1324^th of 1492 public elementary schools	11.3%		15.3	1345^th of 1490 public elementary schools	9.7%	21					49.2	25.3	48.9				38.1	22.8	36.2				72.3		94%	0%	$9,018	$1,456	$7,563

Cities Near Kinston

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
La Grange	6.6 mi	3	394^th
Deep Run	10.7 mi	1	381^st
Grifton	11.59 mi	1	384^th
Snow Hill	12.8 mi	6	425^th
Ayden	14.32 mi	3	215^th

See the top NC North Carolina cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.