Schools in Zip Code 28450

Zip code 28450 in Lake Waccamaw, North Carolina, contains two very different schools serving grades 3 through 12 with a combined enrollment of 638 students. East Columbus Junior-Senior High is the area’s only traditional public secondary school, enrolling 576 students in grades 7–12 as part of Columbus County Schools. Thomas Academy is a much smaller alternative school within the Thomas Academy district, serving 62 students across a very wide grade span from 3 to 12, with a low student–teacher ratio of 8.8 to 1 compared with East Columbus’s 17 to 1.

East Columbus is the main academic player in the zip code, but it faces significant challenges. Nearly every student (99.48%) qualifies for free or reduced lunch, and chronic absenteeism runs at 36.0%, well above the state average of 24.2%. Despite these obstacles, its graduation rate of 87.2% is close to North Carolina’s 88.8% average. By contrast, Thomas Academy has a graduation rate of just 56.1% — a gap of 32.7 points below the state — making it the most alarming outcome in the area. Thomas Academy also reports chronic absenteeism of 28.5%, lower than East Columbus but still higher than the state rate. Neither school posts strong test scores, but East Columbus at least moves most students to graduation, while Thomas Academy struggles on both fronts even though its smaller classes suggest more individual attention.

Academically, East Columbus lags its district and the state in every tested subject in 2025–26. The largest gaps are in 8th-grade math (15.7% proficient vs. 53.0% statewide) and 8th-grade reading (24.8% vs. 56.1%). Seventh-grade scores improved about 9 points year over year, and Biology jumped from 31.4% to 44.9%, but these gains were offset by sharp drops in 8th-grade reading and math. Math III is a relative bright spot at 59.8% proficiency, yet Math I remains very weak at 26.5%, reflecting struggles that start early in high school. At Thomas Academy, proficiency rates are far below state averages across the board, with Math III the most extreme gap at 10% versus 68.9% statewide — but with such a tiny enrollment, those numbers may reflect only a handful of students. The clear priorities for this zip code are supporting 8th graders, reducing chronic absenteeism, and strengthening early high-school math.