Schools in Zip Code 27704

Zip code 27704 in Durham, North Carolina, contains 14 schools serving roughly 8,700 students, including five elementary schools, three middle schools, four high schools, and two K-12 alternative or charter academies, with most schools belonging to Durham Public Schools. The zip code is economically mixed at the school level: nearly every Durham Public school has a free/reduced lunch rate at or above 98%, while Voyager Academy sits at just 20%.

For parents, the standout option is City of Medicine Academy, ranked in the 94th percentile of North Carolina high schools, with Biology proficiency near 98% and chronic absenteeism of just 16.7%—all while serving an almost entirely low-income student body. Voyager Academy is the other clear bright spot, with a 94.8% graduation rate, 10.7% chronic absenteeism, and strong EOG scores across most grade levels, along with a favorable 13.4-to-1 student-teacher ratio. Among traditional public elementary schools, Glenn Elementary stands out, having jumped from the 30th to the 62nd percentile in rankings, with particularly strong third-grade math. Excelsior Classical Academy delivers solid middle-school reading and math but dips below state averages in high-school English II and Math I.

The biggest concerns are Northern High—ranked in the 11th percentile with a 75.9% graduation rate and 53.4% chronic absenteeism—and the three traditional middle schools (Brogden Middle, Neal Middle, Lucas Middle), all ranking near the bottom quarter of the state. Lakeview School is a small alternative program with intensive per-student spending ($45,258) and a 2.8-to-1 ratio, so its low scores should be interpreted in that context. Across the zip code, chronic absenteeism tracks closely with low performance, making attendance a key target for families and schools alike.