Best High Schools in Zip Code 28422

ZIP code 28422 contains just one high school option: The COAST, a grade 6–12 school in Bolivia serving roughly 96 students as part of Brunswick County Schools. Since no other local high school exists for comparison, the clearest picture comes from measuring The COAST against district and state averages — and against its own recent history. The headline is a substantial improvement: after ranking near the bottom of North Carolina high schools in 2024–25, The COAST climbed from the 7th to the 31st percentile in 2025–26. English II proficiency jumped from 15.6% to 69.2%, and Math I rose from 12.0% to 51.4% — with both subjects now above district and state levels.

These gains deserve caution, however. The COAST is small, and small cohorts make scores swing wildly: Math III proficiency collapsed from 62.5% to 17.6% in one year, landing roughly 50–55 points below district and state averages, while Biology proficiency sits at just 31.0%, compared with roughly 58–61% elsewhere. Overall, The COAST still trails its district and state averages in most subjects. The bigger red flag is attendance: 51.8% of students are chronically absent — more than double the district rate (24.5%) and state rate (24.2%). The only school-level graduation rate available from 2018–19 was a very low 49%, far below the district (88.4%) and state (88.8%) rates recorded in 2025–26.

The COAST serves an almost entirely low-income population, with 96.88% of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, yet it is also well resourced: a 5.3:1 student-teacher ratio and roughly $25,746 spent per pupil in 2018–19. That combination of high poverty, high spending, and high absenteeism helps explain why results are so uneven. The recent jump in English II and Math I shows real momentum, but the sharp drop in Math III and weak Biology scores reveal fragility. For parents, the takeaway is that The COAST offers the structural advantages of very small classes and intense individual attention, but lasting success will depend on dramatically improving attendance and producing steadier academic results across every subject, year after year.