Summary:
ZIP code 28379 in Rockingham, North Carolina, is served by 7 schools in Richmond County Schools — 4 elementary schools, 1 middle school, and 2 high schools — enrolling roughly 3,640 students in grades K-12 in a very high-poverty community where about 98.7% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The district ranks 188th out of 246 in North Carolina, and results vary widely across the ZIP code.
L J Bell Elementary is the strongest elementary school in the area, ranking in the 37th percentile statewide and posting the only chronic absenteeism rate below the state average (20.1% vs. 24.2%). Its 4th grade math proficiency of 62.5% even beats the state average of 61.4%. That stands in stark contrast to West Rockingham Elementary (4th percentile) and East Rockingham Elementary (5th percentile), which serve similarly high-poverty populations but show far lower proficiency. Rockingham Middle holds the highest state ranking in the ZIP code (40th percentile), with strong 7th grade math scores (62.9%), but faces 36.2% chronic absenteeism and weaker 8th grade results. Richmond Senior High graduates 91.2% of students — above the state average — and showed dramatic improvement on End-of-Course tests, especially Math I, which jumped from 6.3% to 38.4% proficiency in a single year.
Ashley Chapel Educational Center is a unique case: an alternative school with just 59 students in grades 6-12 where spending reaches $31,523 per pupil and student-teacher ratios are tiny, yet 89.2% of students are chronically absent and proficiency rates are near 10%. Across the ZIP code, reading proficiency is a widespread weakness, and rankings have trended downward at Washington Street Elementary, East Rockingham, and West Rockingham. The overall picture shows a challenging, high-poverty district with meaningful bright spots, but chronic absenteeism, early literacy, and 8th grade performance are the most urgent concerns for parents.
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