Summary:
Zip code 28409 contains four public schools in New Hanover County Schools - three K-5 elementary schools and one 6-8 middle school serving roughly 1,891 students, and the area has no high school of its own. Masonboro Elementary is the clear academic leader, ranked 23rd among North Carolina elementary schools (98th percentile, 5 stars) with combined EOG proficiency near 89 percent and just 8 percent chronic absenteeism. Holly Tree Elementary is the second-strongest school in the zip (87th percentile, 4 stars), posting roughly 76 percent combined proficiency and an 8.3 percent chronic absenteeism rate.
The zip code's only middle school, Myrtle Grove Middle, is a 3-star school in the 68th percentile with about 63 percent combined proficiency. It serves a very high-poverty population (99 percent free or reduced lunch), yet its math results exceed district and state averages, with 70.8 percent of 6th graders and 73.7 percent of 8th graders proficient in recent testing years. Bradley Creek Elementary is the lowest-ranked school in the zip, sitting in the 54th percentile and sliding from the 71st percentile two years ago; its 3rd-grade reading proficiency was just 46.3 percent, although its 5th graders beat district averages in math, reading, and science.
A clear socioeconomic pattern runs through the four schools: fewer than 27 percent of students at Masonboro and Holly Tree qualify for free or reduced lunch versus 98 to 99 percent at Bradley Creek and Myrtle Grove, and this gap maps closely to test-score differences. Masonboro produces its strong results while spending the least per student ($9,518) and having the largest student-teacher ratio (15.9), while Bradley Creek spends the most ($11,533) with the smallest classes (12.1). Chronic absenteeism at all four schools is below both the district and state average of about 24 percent, and because no high school exists in 28409, families should expect children to travel outside the zip for grades 9 through 12.
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