Summary:
The 28398 zip code area in North Carolina is home to two struggling public schools - Warsaw Elementary and James Kenan High School. Both schools serve a high-poverty student population, with over 99% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, and they have consistently ranked in the bottom 20% of schools in the state over the past three years.
Warsaw Elementary is an elementary school serving grades PK-8 with an enrollment of 803 students. The school has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger and student performance on state assessments is significantly below state and district averages across all grade levels and subject areas. For example, in 2024-2025, only 20.5% of 5th graders were proficient or better in reading, compared to the state average of 52.9%. James Kenan High School, on the other hand, serves grades 9-12 with an enrollment of 775 students and also has a 1-star rating. Student performance on state end-of-course assessments is also well below state averages, with only 32.6% of students proficient or better in English II, compared to the state average of 59.6%.
Both schools are located in the Duplin County Schools district, which is ranked 196 out of 242 districts in North Carolina and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger. While Warsaw Elementary has a lower student-teacher ratio (13.2) compared to James Kenan High School (16.8), and higher spending per student ($10,886 vs. $9,706), these differences do not appear to be translating into significantly better academic performance for the elementary school students. The data suggests that the schools in the 28398 zip code area are struggling to provide quality education to their students, and significant interventions and support may be needed to address the systemic challenges these schools are facing.
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