Best Public Schools in Zip Code 27525

ZIP code 27525 covers the Franklinton, North Carolina area and contains 5 public schools serving roughly 2,549 students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, split between two districts: Franklin County Schools and Granville County Schools. Every school serves a very high-poverty population, with more than 98% of students at each campus eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Roughly 72% of students in the ZIP code attend Franklin County Schools, while 28% attend Granville County Schools.

Among the elementary schools, Wilton Elementary is the clear standout: it ranks in the 57th percentile statewide with 3 stars, making it the only school in the ZIP code above the state median, and it also has the lowest chronic absenteeism at 20.2%. In contrast, Franklinton Elementary is the weakest school in the area, ranking in the 26th percentile with scores below state averages in every tested grade and subject; its 5th-grade reading proficiency of just 34.8% trails the state average by more than 20 points. Tar River Elementary sits in between at the 42nd percentile. At the secondary level, Franklinton High posts a strong 92.8% graduation rate and exceeds state averages in Math I, while Franklinton Middle has the ZIP code's most serious attendance concern, with 33.9% of students chronically absent, alongside below-average reading proficiency and encouraging gains in 8th-grade math and science.

District reputation is a misleading guide here: Granville County Schools carries only a 1-star rating, yet its local schools outperform the 3-star Franklin County district's schools in this ZIP code. Franklinton Middle also spends the most per pupil and has the lowest student-teacher ratio in the area, yet its results remain modest, suggesting that chronic absenteeism and other non-monetary factors are key barriers. The most encouraging finding is that every school in ZIP 27525 improved its average proficiency score this year, though large swings in individual subjects likely reflect changing student cohorts more than stable trends. For families, the data show that poverty is a shared challenge across all five schools, but outcomes are not — attendance and school-level practices seem to explain why Wilton and Franklinton High are outperforming expectations while Franklinton Elementary and Franklinton Middle lag behind.