Best Public Schools in Zip Code 27983

ZIP code 27983 encompasses the Windsor, NC area and contains four schools — Bertie High, Bertie Middle, Windsor Elementary, and Bertie Early College High — serving kindergarten through 12th grade under the Bertie County Schools district. This is a very high-poverty area, with between 96.97% and 99.33% of students at each school qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, so comparisons among these schools are not heavily influenced by poverty differences. The district ranks 166th out of 246 North Carolina districts (33rd percentile) with a 2-star rating.

The clear standout is Bertie Early College High, which ranks #100 out of 662 North Carolina high schools (85th percentile, 4 stars). Despite serving a nearly 97% low-income population, it outperforms both its district and the state on nearly every End-of-Course exam: 95.2% proficiency in English II and 96.0% in Math III, compared with just 28.3% and 55.0% at Bertie High. By contrast, Bertie High is the major concern — it ranks in the 15th percentile with 1 star, has an 84.6% graduation rate, and fewer than 1 in 4 students are proficient in Math I. Bertie Middle (32nd percentile) and Windsor Elementary (46th percentile) sit in between, with Windsor Elementary showing strong 5th grade math (79.4% proficiency) but weak 4th grade math (35.3%).

Chronic absenteeism is a significant barrier across the area. More than one in three students at Bertie Middle is chronically absent (35.8%), and Bertie High is close behind at 33.0% — both well above the state average of 24.2%. At Bertie Middle, math proficiency declines sharply by grade level, falling from 63.0% in 6th grade to just 25.7% in 8th grade. Notably, resources alone do not explain the outcomes: Bertie High spends roughly $3,000 more per student ($14,631 versus $11,537) and has a lower student-teacher ratio than Bertie Early College High, yet performs far worse. This suggests factors like school culture, academic expectations, and the selective nature of the early college model may matter more than class size or spending alone.