Schools in Zip Code 28098

ZIP code 28098 in Gaston County, North Carolina, is served by just two public schools — Holbrook Middle and Lowell Elementary — which together cover grades PK through 8, with no high school in the area. Both schools belong to Gaston County Schools, a district ranked 145th out of 246 in North Carolina. This is an extremely high-poverty community: 97.75% of students at Holbrook Middle and 99.18% at Lowell Elementary qualify for free or reduced lunch.

Lowell Elementary is the clear standout, having earned 3-star ratings in recent cycles while Holbrook Middle has remained at 1 star. Lowell's 5th-grade results are exceptional given its poverty rate: science proficiency reached 84.5%, math reached 74.1%, and reading reached 63.8% — all above district and state averages. However, its 3rd and 4th graders trail state averages, and scores swing sharply from year to year, suggesting cohort differences rather than consistent schoolwide trends. Holbrook Middle remains in the bottom quarter of North Carolina middle schools, but it shows momentum: 6th-grade math proficiency jumped from 37.3% to 54.2%, and 8th-grade math rose from 27.1% to 39.2% in a single year.

Chronic absenteeism at both schools is below the state average of 24.2% — 16.6% at Lowell Elementary and 21.7% at Holbrook Middle — which is noteworthy for high-poverty schools. Holbrook Middle, however, still trails district and state averages in nearly every subject, with its largest deficits in 7th-grade math and 8th-grade science, where just 47.4% of students are proficient versus 68.6% statewide. Per-pupil spending from 2018–2019 was higher at Lowell Elementary ($8,896) than at Holbrook Middle ($7,945). Since these two schools form a single PK–8 feeder pathway, Lowell's strong 5th-grade results have not yet carried over into stronger middle school achievement at Holbrook Middle, making that transition the biggest challenge for this community.