Best Public Schools in Zip Code 27371

ZIP code 27371 in Troy, North Carolina is home to 5 schools serving approximately 1,721 students across grades PK-12, all part of Montgomery County Schools, a district ranked 195th out of 246 in North Carolina. The school mix includes two elementary schools (Troy Elementary for PK-2 and Page Street Elementary for 3-5), two high schools (Montgomery Central High and Montgomery County Early College), and Montgomery Learning Academy, a small alternative school serving grades 6-12. Notably, there is no traditional middle school in this ZIP code.

Montgomery County Early College is the clear standout, ranking in the top 10% of North Carolina high schools with a 5-star rating and proficiency rates of 87-100% on state tests. This is remarkable because nearly 99% of its students qualify for free or reduced lunch, and it achieves these results with the largest class sizes in the ZIP code. By contrast, Montgomery Central High, the largest school with 846 students, ranks in the bottom 20% statewide, with just 16.8% of students proficient in Math I. Montgomery Learning Academy, serving just 54 students at a cost of $21,924 per pupil, ranks in the bottom 5% with a 0-star rating and a 50% chronic absenteeism rate.

Among elementary schools, Page Street Elementary outperformed its district in every tested subject and grade in both 2024-25 and 2025-26, but Troy Elementary posts a 31.3% chronic absenteeism rate, a concern for the district's youngest learners. Across the ZIP code, attendance tracks achievement almost perfectly, and math is the biggest academic vulnerability at the traditional high school. Poverty is high everywhere, but the contrast between the 5-star Early College and the struggling traditional schools shows that school model and environment matter enormously. Parents in this area face a deeply unequal school ecosystem where a thriving early college sits alongside schools that are leaving many students behind.