Best Public Schools in Zip Code 28455

Schools in ZIP code 28455 are served by a single public school, Nakina Middle, a small middle school in Nakina, North Carolina, that serves grades 5 through 8 within Columbus County Schools. With only 194 students across four grade levels, the school has a close-knit, small-scale environment, though it also serves a very high-poverty community: 97.42% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the chronic absenteeism rate is 23.7%.

Academically, Nakina Middle presents a striking mixed profile. The school’s standout achievement is 8th grade reading, where 97.6% of students scored proficient in 2025-2026 — a remarkable 41.5 points above the state average of 56.1% and 57.1 points above the district’s 40.5%. Eighth grade science is also strong at 83.3% proficiency, well above the state’s 68.6%. Reading growth through the middle grades is clearly a strength: the 7th grade cohort jumped from 68.4% to 97.6% in reading by 8th grade. Math, however, is the school’s biggest weakness, with proficiency below state averages at every grade level. The lowest point is 5th grade math at just 21.6%, while 6th and 7th grade math reach only 50% — still 6 to 9 points behind the state. Incoming 5th graders also struggled in reading and science this year, with sharp declines from the prior year, likely reflecting a difficult cohort rather than a school-wide trend.

Despite its district’s low statewide reputation — Columbus County Schools ranks 176 out of 246 districts with a 1-star rating — Nakina Middle has consistently earned a 3-star rating and ranks around the 57th to 63rd percentile among North Carolina middle schools. This makes it a positive outlier in a struggling district. The school’s 8th grade reading and science results are especially notable given that nearly all students come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. With such a small enrollment, year-to-year swings can be large, but the overall pattern suggests Nakina Middle is particularly effective at helping students become strong readers by the time they leave for high school, even while math and the earliest middle school grades remain areas needing attention.