Best Public Schools in Zip Code 27979

In zip code 27979 (Sunbury, North Carolina), there is just one public school, T S Cooper Elementary, a K-5 elementary school within the Gates County Schools district that serves about 170 students.

Since this is a single-school area, all attention centers on T S Cooper Elementary, a small, high-poverty school where 57% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch. Despite that challenge, the school is on a strong upward trajectory. Its statewide ranking jumped from the 53rd percentile to the 78th percentile over the last two years, earning a 4-star rating for the 2025-2026 school year. The school outpaces state averages in most subjects and grade levels, with 5th grade being a clear highlight: math proficiency is 78.6% vs. the state’s 62.9%, reading is 71.4% vs. 55.3%, and science is a standout 85.2% vs. 67.7%. Even 3rd graders are doing remarkably well, with math proficiency at 85.2% compared to the state’s 66.4%. These results are particularly impressive for a rural, higher-poverty school, and they suggest that teachers and students are achieving strong academic outcomes.

That said, there are a couple of watch areas. 4th grade reading proficiency is 54.5%, which is above the district average of 49.0% but below the state’s 57.7%, and it dropped notably from the previous year’s 76.9%. Chronic absenteeism affects about 24.4% of students — roughly one in four — which is slightly worse than the state average and may put future gains at risk. Also, because the school is small (only about 28-30 students per grade), large year-to-year swings in scores can be driven by just a handful of children, so dramatic jumps like the +32-point gain in 3rd grade math should be viewed with healthy caution. Families should know that there are no middle or high schools within this zip code, so students will need to move outside Sunbury for later grades. Overall, T S Cooper Elementary is a rising, high-performing school in the elementary years, with strong science and math programs and a few specific areas that will benefit from continued attention.