Best Elementary Schools in Zip Code 28501

Zip code 28501 in Kinston, North Carolina is home to three elementary schools — Contentnea-Savannah School, Northeast Elementary, and Southeast Elementary — serving grades PK-5 (with Contentnea extending through grade 8) through the Lenoir County Public Schools district, which ranks #163 of 246 districts in North Carolina. Every school serves an almost entirely economically disadvantaged population, with free or reduced lunch rates between 96.9% and 99.6%.

Contentnea-Savannah School is the clear standout. It ranks #877 of 1,492 elementary schools (41st percentile) and has improved steadily over three years. Its chronic absenteeism rate of 17.9% is well below the district rate of 26.5% and the state average of 24.2%. Contentnea is the only school in the group that regularly approaches or exceeds district proficiency rates, and it beats the state in 5th grade science (75.3% proficient). By contrast, Northeast Elementary and Southeast Elementary both sit near the 11th percentile statewide (#1,324 and #1,329). Northeast did not exceed the district average in any math or reading grade-level test and has a 36.9% chronic absenteeism rate. Southeast improved dramatically from near the very bottom of the state in 2023-2024, but remains low overall.

Chronic absenteeism aligns closely with performance: Contentnea's 17.9% rate pairs with its relative strength, while Northeast's 36.9% and Southeast's 37.7% rates correspond with weaker results. Poverty alone does not explain the differences, since Southeast has the lowest poverty rate yet posts the weakest scores in several subjects — just 13.5% proficiency in 3rd grade math. Science is a shared bright spot, with both Contentnea (75.3%) and Northeast (72.3%) outperforming the state average of 67.7% in 5th grade science. Spending and class size are not clear drivers either, as Southeast spends the most per student ($12,465) yet performs about the same as Northeast, which spends the least ($9,018). Overall, families in this area will find one school with solid, improving results — Contentnea — while the other two schools face significant challenges, particularly around attendance and grade-level proficiency.