Summary:
Zip code 28326 serves about 2,768 students across four public schools: two elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school, spanning Moore County Schools and Harnett County Schools. The zip code crosses two districts with very different overall ratings, and it also has a striking socioeconomic split: Union Pines High and New Century Middle report free/reduced lunch rates around 32%, while Johnsonville Elementary and Cameron Elementary are near 99% poverty, making direct school-to-school comparisons misleading without context.
New Century Middle is the clear academic anchor, ranking in the 89th percentile of North Carolina middle schools with 75.6% average proficiency and exceptional 8th-grade science results. Johnsonville Elementary is the biggest improver, jumping from the 47th to 71st percentile in one year despite its location in the lower-rated Harnett district. Union Pines High remains solid overall, with a 91.5% graduation rate, but it shows a targeted weakness in Math III proficiency. Cameron Elementary performs reasonably in 5th grade math and science but struggles with reading and has the highest chronic absenteeism rate in the zip at 29.8%.
Every school in 28326 currently averages above the state average on its reported tests, though reading is a relative weak spot at both high-poverty elementary schools. Johnsonville Elementary and Cameron Elementary both show math and science proficiency well above their reading proficiency. Chronic absenteeism appears to track performance, as New Century Middle has the lowest absenteeism and the highest proficiency, while Cameron Elementary has the highest absenteeism and the lowest aggregate proficiency. Families in this area will find a strong middle school pipeline and two high-poverty elementary schools with very different trajectories.
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