Best Elementary Schools in Zip Code 28658

There are five public elementary schools in zip code 28658 serving the Newton, NC area, covering grades PK-5 or PK-6, with all serving very high-poverty populations of roughly 99% free/reduced lunch eligibility.

If you are looking at elementary schools in this area, the strongest overall performers are Balls Creek Elementary and North Newton Elementary. North Newton has the best academic results in math and reading, a 4-star rating, and the lowest chronic absenteeism at just over 10%, placing it in the 80th state percentile. Balls Creek also earns 4 stars and is a consistent high achiever, especially in math and science, though its reading scores trail its own math results. Blackburn Elementary is a solid middle option with the highest 5th-grade science pass rate in the group (84.2%), but its reading proficiency is below average.Startown Elementary and South Newton Elementary are the lower-ranked schools. Startown has slipped to 2 stars and shows a sharp drop-off between 3rd and 5th grade math, while South Newton has the lowest overall scores and the highest chronic absenteeism.

A few patterns stand out. Across all five schools, math proficiency is consistently much higher than reading proficiency, pointing to reading support as the biggest area of need in the zip code. Chronic absenteeism also tracks performance nearly perfectly: schools with fewer studentsmissing class tend to rank higher academically. Spending and class size do not explain results well, since South Newton spends the most per student yet ranks lowest, while North Newton spends less and achieves more. That said, South Newton did post a dramatic improvement in 5th-grade science, and Balls Creek posted the single highest grade-level result in the entire group with 88.1% proficiency in 6th-grade math. For parents, that means the Catawba County Schools and Newton Conover City Schools contain a wide range of outcomes, and school-to-school differences in attendance and academic support likely matter more than demographics alone.