Best Middle Schools in Zip Code 28513

Zip code 28513 is served by a single middle school, Ayden Middle, which enrolls 365 students in grades 6–8 within Pitt County Schools in eastern North Carolina. Ayden Middle stands out for its recent upward trajectory: its statewide percentile rank jumped from the 35th to the 51st percentile between 2024–2025 and 2025–2026, and its star rating improved from 2 to 3 stars. This progress is especially notable because 99.18% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, yet the school has managed to outperform the state in several academic measures despite serving an almost universally economically disadvantaged population.

In the most recent 2025–2026 school year, Ayden Middle showed strong results in several areas. It beat both the district and state in 6th-grade math (65.4% proficient), 8th-grade math (63.3%), and 8th-grade reading (59.6%). The school’s biggest year-over-year gains came in 8th-grade math and 8th-grade science, each improving by 23.7 percentage points, while 6th-grade math rose 16.4 points and 8th-grade reading climbed 17.9 points. However, performance is uneven: 7th-grade math proficiency fell to 48.5%, which is 7.7 points below the state, and 7th-grade reading dropped to 45.6%, 10.7 points below the state. These declines may reflect a particularly challenging 7th-grade cohort rather than a schoolwide issue, but they remain an area of concern.

The most pressing risk factor for Ayden Middle is chronic absenteeism. At 32.2%, the school’s chronic absenteeism rate is significantly higher than the district rate of 21.7% and the state rate of 24.2%, meaning nearly one in three students misses substantial school time. This could help explain some of the uneven proficiency results and makes sustained progress uncertain. On a positive note, the student–teacher ratio of 14.2 is relatively favorable, giving teachers more opportunity to provide individual attention. Ayden Middle has demonstrated meaningful improvement, but its recent gains are not yet stable, so continued focus on attendance and 7th-grade support will be key to maintaining its climb in North Carolina’s middle school rankings.