Best Elementary Schools in Zip Code 28340

In zip code 28340, there are two elementary schools serving grades PK-4 and PK-5: Rosenwald Elementary and Fairgrove Elementary School, both part of Public Schools of Robeson County, a district ranked in the bottom quarter of North Carolina districts. Together they serve about 634 students, with nearly all families qualifying for free/reduced lunch, and chronic absenteeism at both schools runs well above the state average.

Fairgrove Elementary School is the stronger academic performer. It earned a 1-star rating and ranked in the 27th percentile statewide in 2025-2026, a huge jump from the previous year’s 0-star, 9th-percentile showing. Fairgrove’s 5th graders are especially strong: science proficiency (71.4%) is above the state average, and math (62.8%) nearly matches it. The school made double-digit gains in nearly every grade and subject from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026, including a 32-point jump in 5th-grade math. This broad improvement suggests real school-wide progress, even though over 43% of students are chronically absent. By contrast, Rosenwald Elementary ranks in the 3rd percentile with a 0-star rating, and every EOG score was below its district and state averages. Rosenwald did improve across all four tests, but its proficiency rates remain very low (e.g., 27% in 4th-grade reading).

When comparing the two schools, per-pupil spending is nearly identical (about $11,480) and student-teacher ratios are similar (16.0 vs. 14.5), so the significant academic gap is not explained by funding. Rosenwald is actually better on attendance: its chronic absenteeism rate of 33.4% is nearly 10 points lower than Fairgrove’s 43.6%, though both are far above the state average of 24.2%. Fairgrove is clearly the standout school in this zip code, making remarkable gains in a high-poverty, high-absenteeism context. Rosenwald remains an urgent priority, but it is also showing signs of improvement. Parents looking at these two schools should weigh Fairgrove’s strong upward academic trend against Rosenwald’s lower overall performance, even as both schools still trail most of the state.