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Best Public Schools in Zip Code 27030

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At a glance

Schools

4,862

Students

Districts

Top rankedJ Sam Gentry Middle250^th of 778 North Carolina middle schools

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Biggest riser

J Sam Gentry Middle up 115 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Mount Airy Middle 12.7 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

3★

2★

1★

2 schools without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

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Summary:

ZIP code 27030 covers Mount Airy and the surrounding area of Surry County, North Carolina, and contains 11 schools serving about 4,862 students in kindergarten through 12th grade. The schools are split among Surry County Schools, Mount Airy City Schools, and the independent Millennium Charter Academy district, and include five elementary schools, three middle schools, two high schools, and one K-12 charter. Nearly every traditional public school reports free/reduced-lunch eligibility above 98 percent, so the data mostly compare outcomes within a highly disadvantaged community, not between rich and poor areas.

The standout middle school is J Sam Gentry Middle, which ranks in the 68th percentile statewide and leads the pack with 74.5 percent proficiency in 7th-grade math versus a 56.2 percent state average. Among high schools, Mount Airy High is the stronger choice, beating North Surry High on every end-of-course exam (biology 62.8 percent vs. 37.1 percent) and posting half the chronic absenteeism (15.8 percent vs. 31.7 percent). White Plains Elementary is the elementary bright spot, with the lowest chronic absenteeism in the ZIP at 9.9 percent and above-state 4th-grade math and reading. Flat Rock Elementary is the biggest concern, ranking in the 12th percentile, declining for three straight years, and hitting only 16.1 percent proficiency in 5th-grade math—about 47 points below the state.

Also note that the magnet label at Meadowview Magnet Middle does not guarantee stronger results—it trails J Sam Gentry Middle by wide margins in 7th-grade math. Mount Airy Middle has slipped from the 70th to the 48th percentile in three years. Watch 5th grade too: even White Plains Elementary and Franklin Elementary show a clear reading and math dip. Millennium Charter Academy is mixed, combining strong English II and Math III scores with very weak biology and Math I results. Since poverty is nearly identical across these schools, attendance, leadership, and academic support likely explain much of the gap—parents should visit schools and look beyond rankings.

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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 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)		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/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2025)	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	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Millennium Charter Academy	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	500 Old Springs Rd	Mount Airy	27030	Surry County	Millennium Charter Academy	Yes	No	No	No	(336) 789-7570	628	42	14.8		517 (82.3%)	25 (4.0%)	57 (9.1%)	10 (1.6%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (2.7%)								(n/a)	38.5	73.9	12.1	73.0	62.7	59.2	36.5	49.0	38.9	28.6	49.2	57.1	38.5	52.9	66.7	44.9	48.1	59.2
Bruce H. Tharrington Primary	Public	PK, KG-2	315 Culbert Street	Mount Airy	27030	Surry County	Mount Airy City Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(336) 789-9046	432	29	14.8	99.3%	219 (50.7%)	34 (7.9%)	151 (35.0%)	10 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (4.2%)								(n/a)																			$12,455	$1,917	$10,538
Jones Intermediate	Public	3-5	2170 Riverside Drive	Mount Airy	27030	Surry County	Mount Airy City Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(336) 786-4131	339	25	13.5	99.1%	179 (52.8%)	33 (9.7%)	102 (30.1%)	9 (2.7%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (4.4%)	34.9	1006^th of 1492 public elementary schools	32.6%		47	802^nd of 1490 public elementary schools	46.2%	204					55.3	59.0	50.0				55.3	55.6	38.5				53.3		$10,260	$1,761	$8,499
Mount Airy High	Public	9-12	1011 N South St	Mount Airy	27030	Surry County	Mount Airy City Schools	No	No	No	No	(336) 789-5147	620	37	16.5	99.5%	381 (61.5%)	47 (7.6%)	144 (23.2%)	10 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (6.1%)	53	305^th of 662 public high schools	53.9%		49.9	298^th of 641 public high schools	53.5%	7	62.8	59.2	41.8	81.6															$10,888	$1,160	$9,729
Mount Airy Middle	Public	6-8	249 Hamburg Street	Mount Airy	27030	Surry County	Mount Airy City Schools	No	No	No	No	(336) 789-9021	395	31	12.7	99.2%	234 (59.2%)	24 (6.1%)	102 (25.8%)	11 (2.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (6.1%)	49	406^th of 778 public middle schools	47.8%		56.7	305^th of 773 public middle schools	60.5%	101								60.0	53.8	57.4				47.0	47.0	52.5		71.6	$10,309	$806	$9,503
Flat Rock Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1539 E Pine St	Mount Airy	27030	Surry County	Surry County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(336) 786-2910	217	16	13.1	98.6%	132 (60.8%)	16 (7.4%)	59 (27.2%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (4.1%)	18.5	1309^th of 1492 public elementary schools	12.3%		25.5	1168^th of 1490 public elementary schools	21.6%	141					44.8	51.3	16.1				37.9	53.8	32.3				35.5		$13,728	$2,125	$11,603
Franklin Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	519 S Franklin Road	Mount Airy	27030	Surry County	Surry County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(336) 786-2459	473	35	13.4	98.9%	311 (65.8%)	18 (3.8%)	118 (24.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (5.5%)	40.6	896^th of 1492 public elementary schools	39.9%		47.8	785^th of 1490 public elementary schools	47.3%	111					62.5	46.7	54.8				55.6	54.7	41.7				67.9		$10,170	$1,823	$8,347
J Sam Gentry Middle	Public	6-8	1915 W Pine Street	Mount Airy	27030	Surry County	Surry County Schools	No	No	No	No	(336) 786-4155	320	22	14.4	99.1%	224 (70.0%)	5 (1.6%)	80 (25.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (3.1%)	64.8	250^th of 778 public middle schools	67.9%		52.1	365^th of 773 public middle schools	52.8%	115								64.7	74.5	62.6				52.1	51.9	65.2		75.7	$9,877	$999	$8,878
North Surry High	Public	9-12	2440 W Pine Street	Mount Airy	27030	Surry County	Surry County Schools	No	No	No	No	(336) 789-5055	792	46	17.1	99.6%	521 (65.8%)	20 (2.5%)	214 (27.0%)	4 (0.5%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	32 (4.0%)	30.4	477^th of 662 public high schools	27.9%		37.2	395^th of 641 public high schools	38.4%	82	37.1	48.0	24.8	76.3															$9,405	$905	$8,500
White Plains Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	710 Cadle Ford Rd	Mount Airy	27030	Surry County	Surry County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(336) 320-3434	328	22	14.8	99.1%	230 (70.1%)	1 (0.3%)	85 (25.9%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (3.4%)	47.4	776^th of 1492 public elementary schools	48.0%		50.7	737^th of 1490 public elementary schools	50.5%	39					57.1	71.4	54.8				53.1	66.1	40.5				57.1		$10,986	$1,465	$9,521
Meadowview Magnet Middle	Public, Magnet	6-8	1282 McKinney Road	Mount Airy	27030	Surry County	Surry County Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(336) 789-0276	318	24	13.0	99.1%	197 (61.9%)	11 (3.5%)	85 (26.7%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (7.5%)	47.1	421^st of 778 public middle schools	45.9%		45.6	428^th of 773 public middle schools	44.6%	7								57.0	43.9	52.1				51.0	54.2	57.3		67.7	$10,579	$1,000	$9,579

Cities Near Zip Code 27030

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Mount Airy	0.14 mi	11	276^th
Pilot Mountain	7.75 mi	4	112^th
Dobson	8.56 mi	7	197^th
Lowgap	9.6 mi	1	295^th
Pinnacle	12.92 mi	2	38^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.