Best Public Schools in Zip Code 28687

ZIP code 28687 in Statesville, NC, is home to just one public school: Success Institute Charter, a K-8 charter school with 90 students. Although the area is classified as having only one elementary school, this school actually serves grades K-8, making it the only public option for middle-grade students in the ZIP code as well. It is part of the Success Institute Charter School district, which ranks 170th out of 246 charter districts statewide. With a very high poverty rate — 95.56% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch — the school stands out for its low chronic absenteeism of 11.0%, less than half the state rate of 24.2%.

Academically, Success Institute Charter shows clear strengths and weaknesses on state EOG exams. In reading, 4th grade proficiency is 66.7%, nine points above the state, and 3rd grade reading is nearly at the state average. However, 5th grade reading from the prior year was just 8.3% proficient, a dramatic gap. Math proficiency lags the state at every reported grade, with the gap widening from 26.4 points below in 3rd grade to 38 points below in 7th grade. Because enrollment is so small — just 90 students across eight grades — each cohort is tiny, so one or two students can shift proficiency rates by several points, and these figures should be interpreted cautiously.

The school has shown modest overall improvement in recent years, moving from the 26th percentile in both 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 to the 34th percentile in 2025-2026, and improving from a 1-star to a 2-star rating. This positive trend is encouraging given the school’s high-poverty context, as is the low chronic absenteeism. Still, the persistent math weakness and the severe 5th grade reading dip are areas of concern for parents to consider. With only one school serving the ZIP code, Success Institute Charter is the sole educational choice for families in 28687, offering an intimate setting where strong attendance and early reading success coexist with significant academic challenges in math and some upper-grade subjects.