Best Public Schools in Zip Code 27832

ZIP code 27832 in Gaston, North Carolina, is served by three schools — KIPP Pride College Preparatory, Gaston STEM Leadership Academy, and Northampton County High School — which together enroll roughly 1,692 students from kindergarten through 12th grade in a high-poverty rural community where nearly every student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. The largest is KIPP Pride College Preparatory, an independent K-12 school enrolling 1,143 students, while Gaston STEM Leadership Academy (PK-8, 284 students) and Northampton County High School (9-12, 265 students) belong to Northampton County Schools, a district ranked 217th out of 246 in North Carolina.

KIPP Pride College Preparatory posts the strongest academic results in the ZIP code despite its "alternative" label. Its 8th-grade science proficiency reached 74.4% in 2025-26, and its Math I EOC proficiency of 51.6% topped the state's 42.1%. Northampton County High School, by contrast, is the lowest-performing school in the area, with just 11.8% proficient in Biology, 26.6% in English II, and 26.0% in Math I. Gaston STEM Leadership Academy falls in between but is the most volatile; its 5th-grade math proficiency swung from 84.6% in 2024-25 to 10.0% in 2025-26, a reminder that with only 284 students spread across PK-8, a single small cohort can dramatically shift year-over-year results.

Chronic absenteeism is a systemic crisis in this ZIP code, affecting 38.3% of KIPP Pride College Preparatory students, 40.7% at Gaston STEM Leadership Academy, and a staggering 74.0% at Northampton County High School — roughly three times the state rate of 24.2%. Notably, Northampton County High School graduates 82.2% of its students, above KIPP Pride College Preparatory's 76.3%, despite far lower test scores, which shows that graduation rates and academic proficiency can tell very different stories. All three schools serve an almost entirely low-income student body, and proficiency trails state averages in nearly every grade and subject. Still, KIPP Pride College Preparatory's strong middle-school science and Math I results prove that academic success is achievable even under challenging circumstances in Gaston.