Summary:
ZIP code 28522 contains a single public elementary school, Comfort Elementary, serving grades PK-5 in the Jones County Schools district in Comfort, NC, with no middle or high schools located within the ZIP code.
Because Comfort Elementary is the only school in this area, its performance defines the local picture. The school has earned a consistent 3-star state rating for three straight years and recently ranked in the 58th percentile statewide, which is notably stronger than its district's overall 2-star rating and 38th-percentile ranking. In the most recent year, Comfort Elementary's math and reading proficiency rates were above both the district and state averages, with particularly strong results in 3rd grade math (81.3% proficient) and 4th grade reading and math (75.0% each). The one clear weak point is 5th grade science, where only 38.9% of students scored proficient, far below the state rate of 67.7% and also below the district rate of 44.2%. That science score also dropped sharply from the prior year, although small grade-level cohorts can make year-to-year swings look larger than they really are.
Families should also know that Comfort Elementary serves a student body with a very high economic disadvantage rate, with 97.64% of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch. Despite that challenge, the school has posted above-average reading and math results in recent years. Chronic absenteeism affects roughly 26.2% of students, slightly above the district and state averages, and may be worth monitoring. With only 127 students spread across PK-5, individual classes are small, so proficiency changes of 10-20 points may reflect just a handful of students. For parents in ZIP 28522, Comfort Elementary is the only local public elementary option, and older students would need to travel outside the ZIP code for middle and high school.
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