Best High Schools in Zip Code 28332

Zip code 28332 in Dublin, North Carolina, is served by just one public high school, Bladen Early College, which enrolls 129 students in grades 9–12. This small early college high school stands out dramatically in a district that otherwise struggles academically. While its home district, Bladen County Schools, ranks 200th out of 246 North Carolina districts and earns only 1 star, Bladen Early College itself earns 4 stars and ranks 87th out of 662 high schools statewide for 2025–2026. That means students here are getting a far stronger academic experience than the district-level ratings would suggest.

Test scores tell the clearest story. In 2025–2026, Bladen Early College’s End-of-Course proficiency rates were 91.9% in Biology, 90.9% in English II, 81.0% in Math I, and 92.5% in Math III. Those numbers outpace the state average by 23 to 39 percentage points and outpace the district by 20 to 49 points. This is not a one-year fluke; the school has ranked in the 76th percentile or higher for three straight years, reaching the 88th percentile in 2023–2024. Even with some year-to-year ranking movement, Bladen Early College has never fallen below the top quarter of North Carolina high schools. With over 97% of students eligible for free or reduced lunch, the school is also demonstrating that high achievement is possible despite high poverty levels. The school’s chronic absenteeism rate was just 7.8% in 2020–2021, far better than the district’s 31.4% and the state’s 24.2% in 2024–2025, though the years differ.

One unusual statistic is the student-teacher ratio of 61.4-to-1, which is extremely high and likely reflects the early college model where students take college courses off-site, not necessarily a traditional classroom shortage. For parents, the key takeaway is that Bladen Early College is a high-performing, tightly-knit school that beats both its district and the state in every subject. The only real limitation of living in zip 28332 is choice: this is the sole high school in the immediate area, so all comparisons are to the surrounding district and state. Still, the evidence shows Bladen Early College is an academic standout that will be hard to match elsewhere in Bladen County.