Summary:
Zip code 28090, located in the Lawndale area of North Carolina, is served by a single middle school—Burns Middle—which enrolls 744 students in grades 6 through 8 under Cleveland County Schools. Since no other middle school exists in this zip code for direct comparison, the most useful context comes from measuring the school against district-wide and state-wide averages.
Burns Middle has shown steady improvement in its state ranking, moving from 377th out of 793 schools (52nd percentile) in 2023–2024 to 294th out of 778 schools (62nd percentile) in 2025–2026 while earning a consistent 3-star rating. Its clearest academic strengths are 6th grade math, where 73.4% of students scored proficient in 2025–2026—more than 14 points above the state average—and 8th grade science, where 75.4% were proficient compared to 68.6% statewide. Reading results are more mixed, with 6th and 8th graders above state averages but 7th graders slightly below. The primary concern is 8th grade math, where only 46.3% of students were proficient versus 54.2% in the district and 53.0% across the state, though this does reflect a substantial year-over-year improvement from 38.5%.
Two factors are especially important for parents to understand. Burns Middle serves an almost entirely economically disadvantaged student population, with 99.6% of students eligible for free or reduced lunch, making its above-average performance in several subjects particularly impressive. However, chronic absenteeism is a real challenge, affecting 29.1% of students—nearly 5 points higher than the state's 24.2%—and likely holding the school back from even stronger results, especially in 8th grade math and 7th grade reading. Overall, Burns Middle is a high-poverty school that exceeds expectations in many areas while still having clear opportunities to improve attendance and strengthen math achievement in the upper middle school grades.
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