Schools in Zip Code 28463

Zip code 28463, centered on Tabor City in rural southeastern North Carolina, serves 1,267 students through just two schools: Tabor City School, a PK–8 campus with 598 students, and South Columbus High School, a 9–12 campus with 669 students. Both belong to Columbus County Schools, a district ranked 176th of 246 districts statewide (28th percentile, 1 star), placing it broadly below the state average. The schools also serve extremely high-poverty populations — about 99% of students at each school qualify for free or reduced-price lunch — an essential lens for interpreting test scores and ratings.

South Columbus High is the stronger and more encouraging of the two schools. Its 92.5% graduation rate tops both the district (90.5%) and the state (88.8%), and it improved in every End-of-Course subject from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026 — including a 12.7-point jump in Biology and a 12.1-point gain in Math III. Overall EOC proficiency rose from roughly 41% to 50%, lifting the school to a 2-star rating, though it still trails state averages in most subjects. Tabor City School, by contrast, carries a 0-star rating and ranks in the bottom 10% of North Carolina schools. Its overall EOG proficiency is roughly 38.7%, below the district's 45.4% and the state's 59.4%. Yet the school shows genuine pockets of strength: 6th grade math hits 58.9%, essentially matching the state, and 7th and 8th grade math both beat district averages.

Chronic absenteeism runs high at both schools — 33.0% at the high school and 28.8% at Tabor City, versus 24.2% statewide — and reading is a systemic weakness across the entire PK–12 pipeline. Every tested grade at Tabor City trails the state average in reading, and English II proficiency at South Columbus (50.4%) remains well below the state's 64.6%. Because Tabor City is the only feeder for the high school, many students arrive below grade level — just 34.2% of its 8th graders are proficient in math and reading. Still, South Columbus's strong graduation rate suggests it adds real value. The biggest opportunities for improvement are early literacy, early-grade math, and reducing chronic absenteeism.