Summary:
ZIP code 28462 is served by three schools — Supply Elementary (PK–5), Cedar Grove Middle (6–8), and Brunswick County Early College (9–12) — totaling about 1,419 students, all within Brunswick County Schools, a district ranked 86th of 246 in North Carolina. Nearly every student at all three schools (99%+) qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, making poverty a constant across the ZIP. Despite that shared challenge, academic outcomes vary dramatically, which points to school-level factors making the real difference.
Brunswick County Early College is the clear standout: ranked 56th of 662 high schools (92nd percentile, 5 stars), it posts extraordinary proficiency rates — 97.3% in English II, 98.3% in Math III, and 90.5% in Biology — beating district averages by 25 to 37 points. The other two schools sit far below that bar. Cedar Grove Middle ranks 436th of 778 (44th percentile, 2 stars) but shows real momentum: reading proficiency rose 9 to 11 points in every grade last year, and 6th grade reading now matches the state average. Supply Elementary, by contrast, is the ZIP's weakest school, ranking 1099th of 1492 (26th percentile, 1 star), with reading proficiency trailing the state by 11 to 19 points in every grade.
The most instructive patterns are grade-transition breakdowns. Supply's 3rd graders hit 69.7% math proficiency, near the state average — then the same cohort collapses to 38.1% in 4th grade, a 30+ point cliff repeated in back-to-back years. Cedar Grove shows the same shape: 6th grade math is strong at 65.1%, but 7th grade math plunges to 38.0%. Chronic absenteeism is a likely accomplice, running at 34.7% at Cedar Grove and 27.1% at Supply, versus 24.2% statewide. The Early College, whose last reported rate was just 6.9%, also spends the least per student ($7,807 vs. $11,000+) and still delivers elite results — proof that high-poverty schools can thrive when attendance and instruction are strong.
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