Summary:
ZIP code 28530 is home to one public school, Grifton, which serves grades PK–8 with 395 students in Pitt County Schools, a district that ranks 112th of 246 statewide with a 3-star rating. Because it is the only school in the ZIP code, families have a single public option for pre-K through 8th grade; students attend high school outside the ZIP code. Grifton operates with a favorable student-teacher ratio of 12.9, and 97.47% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting a very high-poverty population.
Though Grifton faces significant socioeconomic challenges, the school is trending upward. Its statewide ranking improved from the 26th percentile in 2023–24 to the 40th percentile in 2025–26, and its star rating rose from 1 to 2 stars. Academically, the strongest results are in 3rd grade: math proficiency reached 71.8% and reading 65%, both exceeding district and state averages. Fifth-grade science is another bright spot at 76.2% proficient. However, performance drops notably in the middle grades. Sixth-grade reading proficiency is just 23.9%, compared with 53.1% for the district and 54.8% for the state, and 4th-grade math (43.9%) and 8th-grade math (41.5%) trail their respective district and state averages by 15 to 20 points.
Year-over-year trends suggest Grifton is improving faster than the district and state in most subjects. Average math proficiency rose from 45.2% to 51.1%, reading from 39.6% to 45.4%, and science from 52.6% to 68.3%, nearly matching the state science average of 68.2%. Reading and math still lag district and state averages by about 8 to 12 points, and chronic absenteeism affects 23.6% of students, slightly above the district rate of 21.7% but below the state rate of 24.2%. For parents, Grifton offers small classes, strong early elementary instruction, and a clear upward trend, though middle-grade literacy and math remain areas to watch.
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