Schools in Zip Code 28137

ZIP code 28137 (Richfield, North Carolina) is served by a single public school: Richfield Elementary, a K-5 elementary school within Stanly County Schools. There are no middle or high schools in this ZIP code, so families seeking upper-grade options will need to look elsewhere in the district. Richfield Elementary enrolls 302 students with a 14:1 student-teacher ratio, and an extraordinarily high 99.01% of its students qualify for free/reduced lunch, indicating a very high-poverty student population.

Despite that poverty level, this school is a standout academic performer. In the 2025-2026 school year, Richfield Elementary ranked 232nd out of 1,492 North Carolina elementary schools (84th percentile, 4-star rating), up from 637th just two years earlier. In the most recent EOG testing, the school outperformed both its district and the state in every single grade and subject combination. For example, 3rd-grade math proficiency was 91.1% versus 69.8% for the district and 66.4% for the state; reading proficiency across all grades similarly exceeded district and state averages by wide margins. The school also posts a chronic absenteeism rate of 15.4%, well below the district's 19.7% and the state's 24.2%, which likely supports strong academic outcomes.

Math is an especially notable strength, with proficiency rates in all three grade levels exceeding district and state results by roughly 10 to 25 points. The school's performance in 5th-grade science has also been consistently strong (76-79% proficiency over two years). One challenge emerged in 2024-2025 when 3rd-grade reading proficiency dipped to 43.4%, below district and state averages, but by 2025-2026 it surged to 73.3%, far surpassing those same benchmarks. Families should note that per-student spending data ($9,326) is from 2018-2019 and may be outdated, and with only one school in the ZIP code, there are no local alternatives for comparison. Still, for a small, high-poverty elementary school, Richfield Elementary is clearly punching well above its weight.