Best Public Schools in Zip Code 27932

Zip code 27932 in Edenton, NC is home to three public schools in Edenton-Chowan Schools, serving about 1,410 students across grades PK–2, 3–5, and 9–12, with every school reporting that 99% or more of students qualify for free/reduced-price lunch. The district ranks 181st out of 246 statewide, and the school list has no middle school, meaning grades 6–8 are served outside the zip code's public data. John A Holmes High is the only high school and is academically uneven: it posts a strong 91.9% graduation rate and English II scores above the state, but only 14.1% of students are proficient in Math I, a sharp drop from the prior year and a major red flag for college readiness.

D F Walker Elementary, serving grades 3–5, shows the most encouraging improvements, including 3rd grade math at 71.7% (above the state), a 17.6-point jump in 3rd grade reading, and strong gains in 5th grade science. However, it also shows a clear slide as students advance, with 5th grade math at just 44.4% versus 62.9% statewide, and reading still below state averages in every grade. White Oak Elementary (PK–2) cannot be ranked because it has no EOG test data, but it spends the most per student ($13,005) and has the lowest student–teacher ratio at 14.3, while also carrying the highest chronic absenteeism rate in the group at 28.0%.

Chronic absenteeism exceeds the state rate at two of the three schools, and spending does not clearly align with results—D F Walker spends the least yet posts the strongest single outcome in the dataset. Both ranked schools improved their statewide percentiles and now hold 2-star ratings, but the most urgent issue is the severe math gap at John A Holmes High, where English II proficiency (66.4%) dwarfs Math I proficiency (14.1%). Overall, parents should see a high-poverty district with real bright spots in graduation, early-grade math, and science, but with fragile gains and significant math weaknesses that need attention.