Best Public Schools in Zip Code 27101

ZIP code 27101 in Winston-Salem, NC contains eight public schools serving 4,031 students across elementary and high school grade spans, with no traditional standalone middle school — middle grades are housed inside K-8 or 6-12 campuses. Seven of the eight schools belong to Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools, ranked 159th of 246 districts in North Carolina, while The Arts Based School is part of a separate single-campus district. The neighborhood spans nearly the full spectrum of state rankings, from the 80th percentile down to the bottom one percent.

For the strongest elementary option, The Downtown School ranks in the 80th percentile statewide and exceeds district and state averages in nearly every tested grade and subject — its 3rd grade math proficiency is 75.6 percent and 6th grade reading is 95.4 percent. It also has the area's lowest chronic absenteeism (5.9 percent) and lowest free/reduced-price lunch rate (24.9 percent). Among high schools, Atkins Academic & Technical High is the clear leader, ranking in the 76th percentile despite its district's bottom-half ranking; English II proficiency is 87.5 percent and Math III is 88.5 percent, though Math I sits essentially at the state average at 41.1 percent. The Arts Based School is a more mixed K-8 option ranked in the 55th percentile overall, yet its 8th grade science proficiency reaches 97.9 percent.

At the other extreme, Petree Elementary ranks in the bottom one percent of elementary schools, with 17.1 percent 3rd grade reading proficiency and 53 percent chronic absenteeism. Winston-Salem Preparatory Academy is the weakest high school, with a 71 percent graduation rate and just 11 percent proficiency in 7th grade math. Notably, J F Kennedy High is a bright spot despite 99 percent poverty: it graduates 90 percent of students — above both district and state — and its Math I proficiency tops the district. Chronic absenteeism is the clearest dividing line in this ZIP code: the strongest schools report rates below 24 percent, while the weakest exceed 50 percent, more than double the state average.