Best Public Schools in Zip Code 28590

Zip code 28590, which covers Winterville, NC, is served by six schools with a total enrollment of 5,154 students: four elementary schools (including Winterville Charter Academy, which serves grades K–8), one middle school, and one high school. Five of these schools belong to Pitt County Schools, while Winterville Charter Academy operates as its own district, and despite very high poverty rates, every school in the area performs at or above its statewide percentile.

Ridgewood Elementary is the clear academic leader, ranking in the 80th percentile statewide with the lowest chronic absenteeism in the zip code (12.9%) and test scores well above state averages in reading, math, and science. A G Cox Middle is also a strong performer, climbing from the 54th to the 70th percentile over three years and exceeding state averages in all seven of its EOG subjects. South Central High made dramatic gains—improving by at least 10 percentage points in every EOC subject—yet its English II proficiency still trails the state, and its 85% graduation rate and 26.9% chronic absenteeism rate remain concerns. Winterville Charter Academy is the strongest school in the area for middle-grade math and science (8th grade science proficiency at 85%), but its elementary-grade results are more uneven; Creekside Elementary and W H Robinson Elementary both rank in the 59th–66th percentile range, with solid but less spectacular performance.

Overall, these schools show that high economic disadvantage does not have to equal low performance: five of the six exceed the state average on their own composite test scores. Chronic absenteeism rises sharply with grade level—from under 19% in elementary schools to 23.1% at A G Cox and 26.9% at South Central—making attendance an important lever, particularly at the secondary level. Science is a genuine area of strength across the feeder pattern, from 5th grade science at Ridgewood to Biology at South Central. The biggest academic weakness is English II, which is the only subject at South Central below the state average. Given the strong Math III results, part of the challenge appears to be students entering high school underprepared in both literacy and foundational math.