Summary:
Zip code 28372, in the Pembroke, North Carolina area, is home to three elementary schools serving about 1,580 students: Pembroke Elementary (PK-5), Union Chapel Elementary (PK-6), and Old Main STREAM Academy (K-8). Pembroke and Union Chapel belong to the Public Schools of Robeson County, while Old Main belongs to the Old Main Stream district — a meaningful difference, since the latter ranks #22 of 246 districts statewide with a 5-star rating, while Robeson County ranks #190.
Old Main STREAM Academy is the clear standout. It ranks #266 of 1,492 schools statewide — the 82nd percentile with a 4-star rating — and outperforms the state average in 13 of its 14 reported tests. It also has the lowest chronic absenteeism rate (12.9%) and lowest student-teacher ratio (13.5) of the three. Pembroke Elementary is the most improved: its state rank climbed from the 22nd to the 39th percentile over three years, earning a 2-star rating, and it improved in every tested grade and subject last year. Union Chapel Elementary sits at the bottom, ranking #1,194 (20th percentile, 1 star), with its biggest struggles in early grades — just 30.8% of its 3rd graders read proficiently.
All three schools serve almost identical high-poverty populations, with more than 99% of students eligible for free or reduced lunch — which makes Old Main's top-quartile performance especially notable and shows that economic disadvantage does not have to dictate outcomes. Attendance is a major concern at Pembroke Elementary, where 45.7% of students are chronically absent — nearly double the state rate of 24.2% — and at Union Chapel Elementary, where the rate is 29.7%. Old Main's rate is just 12.9%. The two Robeson County schools also demonstrate that district rankings can hide big differences between schools: Pembroke outranks Union Chapel by about 280 places and posted its largest gains in 3rd grade reading, while Union Chapel's early-grade scores point to a need for targeted intervention in the primary years.
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