Summary:
ZIP code 28584 covers the Swansboro/Cape Carteret area of coastal North Carolina and is home to five public schools serving roughly 4,366 students from pre-K through 12th grade. Four of the five schools belong to Onslow County Schools, while White Oak Elementary belongs to Carteret County Public Schools — a boundary that matters, as Carteret ranks in the 87th percentile of NC districts while Onslow sits in the 45th percentile.
The clear academic leader is White Oak Elementary, which ranks in the 91st percentile statewide with a 5-star rating and the lowest chronic absenteeism rate in the area at just under 12%. Its third-grade reading and math proficiency rates are far above state averages. Among the Onslow County schools, Swansboro High stands out for its strong post-secondary readiness, with a 92.5% graduation rate and EOC proficiency scores that easily surpass district averages; its Math III proficiency rate reaches nearly 83%. Meanwhile, Swansboro Elementary quietly excels within a lower-performing district, ranking in the 79th percentile and posting the highest fifth-grade math and science scores in the ZIP, above 86% proficiency.
On the other end, Queens Creek Elementary has the highest poverty rate (51.1% free/reduced lunch) and trails the other elementary schools, though it has shown steady improvement in recent years. Swansboro Middle ranks in the 67th percentile but saw a recent drop from the 76th percentile, with visible declines in seventh-grade math and reading. It also has the highest chronic absenteeism rate in the ZIP. Overall, this area offers a strong elementary option in White Oak, a dependable high school in Swansboro, and several Onslow County schools that outperform their district’s average ranking — making the ZIP an interesting mix of academic strength and emerging challenges.
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