Best Public Schools in Zip Code 27809

ZIP code 27809, serving the Battleboro, NC area, contains four schools: two elementary schools (M B Hubbard Elementary and Coker-Wimberly Elementary) and two middle schools (Red Oak Middle and Phillips Middle), with no high schools in the immediate area. These schools belong to two different districts: Nash County Public Schools and Edgecombe County Public Schools. Together they enroll roughly 1,606 students, and all four schools face very high economic need, with more than 96% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch.

The split between districts is the biggest story here. The Nash County schools—Red Oak Middle and M B Hubbard Elementary—clearly outperform their Edgecombe County counterparts. Red Oak Middle is the strongest school in the zip, ranking in the 38th percentile statewide and posting the lowest chronic absenteeism rate in the area at 23.3%, the only one below the state average. M B Hubbard Elementary ranks in the 32nd percentile and achieves 5th grade math and science scores above state averages. By contrast, Coker-Wimberly Elementary ranks in just the 3rd percentile statewide with a 38.9% chronic absenteeism rate, and Phillips Middle ranks in the 8th percentile with an alarming 6.3% proficiency rate in 8th grade math—about 47 points below the state average.

Notably, spending and class size do not explain the results. Phillips Middle has the lowest student-teacher ratio (12.4) and the highest per-student spending ($13,631) of all four schools, yet it remains the lowest-performing middle school. Red Oak Middle improved sharply in a single year, lifting its average EOG proficiency from 40.1% to 50.8%, while M B Hubbard Elementary saw a puzzling drop in 4th grade math from 67.9% to 28.8%, likely reflecting a challenging cohort change. Chronic absenteeism closely tracks achievement across all four schools, and although poverty is universal in this area, outcomes clearly are not. Parents comparing schools should weigh the district differences carefully, as school quality varies widely even within this small, high-poverty community.