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Best Elementary Schools in Zip Code 28713

At a glance

Schools

962

Students

Districts

Top rankedMountain Discovery861^st of 1,492 North Carolina elementary schools

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Summary:

Zip code 28713 in Bryson City, North Carolina, contains three schools serving elementary students: Swain County West Elementary, Swain County East Elementary, and the K-8 public charter Mountain Discovery. Combined enrollment is 962. The two traditional public schools belong to Swain County Schools, a district ranked near the bottom of North Carolina districts with a 1-star rating. Mountain Discovery operates under Mountain Discovery Charter School, which carries a 3-star district rating — signaling meaningfully different outcomes within the same zip code.

Mountain Discovery stands out as the strongest academic school. Its most recent statewide rank places it in the 42nd percentile, well above Swain County West at the 23rd percentile and Swain County East at the 15th percentile. Reading is a strength at Mountain Discovery: 72.7% of its 4th graders and 86.7% of its 8th graders scored proficient, compared with state averages of 57.7% and 56.1%. Swain County West is the stronger of the two traditional public schools, matching 62.3% proficiency in both 4th-grade reading and 4th-grade math. Swain County East trails in nearly every subject; only 36.2% of Swain County East 4th graders passed math, and no grade-level EOG result at Swain County East met the state average in the latest testing year.

All three schools share heavy challenges that parents should weigh alongside test scores. Roughly 99% of students at both traditional public schools qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and chronic absenteeism runs higher than the state average at every campus: 33.9% at Swain County East, 30.8% at Swain County West, and 29.0% at Mountain Discovery. Math proficiency is a common weak spot — even Mountain Discovery only exceeded the state average in two math grade levels. Because grade-level cohorts are small, results can shift sharply from year to year; Swain County West's rank dropped from the 39th to the 23rd percentile in one year even while its 4th-grade scores improved. The bottom line for parents is that Mountain Discovery offers the strongest academics, particularly in reading, but no school in 28713 currently ranks above the state median.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Vaccination Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				EOG Mathematics (2026)						EOG Reading (2026)						EOG Science (2026)		Vaccination (2025-26)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/reduced lunch	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	EOG Mathematics 3rd Grade	EOG Mathematics 4th Grade	EOG Mathematics 5th Grade	EOG Mathematics 6th Grade	EOG Mathematics 7th Grade	EOG Mathematics 8th Grade	EOG Reading 3rd Grade	EOG Reading 4th Grade	EOG Reading 5th Grade	EOG Reading 6th Grade	EOG Reading 7th Grade	EOG Reading 8th Grade	EOG Science 5th Grade	EOG Science 8th Grade	Vaccination: Kindergartners up to date on all required vaccines	Vaccination: Exemption rate	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Mountain Discovery	Public, Charter	K-8	890 Jenkins Branch Rd N	Bryson City	28713	Swain County	Mountain Discovery Charter School	Yes	No	No	Yes	(828) 488-1222	221	14	16.2		174 (78.7%)	4 (1.8%)	3 (1.4%)	3 (1.4%)	17 (7.7%)	1 (0.5%)	19 (8.6%)	42.8	861^st of 1492 public elementary schools	42.3%		43.5	860^th of 1490 public elementary schools	42.3%	1	38.7	68.2	36.4	47.4	61.9	46.7	61.3	72.7	59.1	50.0	71.4	86.7	50.0	100.0	89.7%	10.3%
Swain County East Elementary	Public	K-5	4747 Ela Rd	Bryson City	28713	Swain County	Swain County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 488-0939	338	20	16.4		160 (47.3%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (8.6%)	3 (0.9%)	88 (26.0%)	0 (0.0%)	58 (17.2%)	20	1275^th of 1492 public elementary schools	14.5%		22.7	1226^th of 1490 public elementary schools	17.7%	49	51.9	36.2	43.5				47.3	42.6	28.3				56.5		100%	0%	$12,145	$1,906	$10,238
Swain County West Elementary	Public	K-5	4142 Hwy 19 West	Bryson City	28713	Swain County	Swain County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 488-2119	403	26	15.7		293 (72.7%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (6.5%)	5 (1.2%)	32 (7.9%)	0 (0.0%)	47 (11.7%)	27.4	1153^rd of 1492 public elementary schools	22.7%		40.9	902^nd of 1490 public elementary schools	39.5%	251	45.5	62.3	47.6				33.3	62.3	33.3				54.8		94.5%	3.6%	$10,938	$1,448	$9,491

Cities Near Zip Code 28713

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Bryson City	1.26 mi	7	328^th
Whittier	8.32 mi	1	461^st
Cherokee	12.31 mi	2
Franklin	12.37 mi	10	248^th
Topton	13.89 mi	1

See the top NC North Carolina cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.