Best High Schools in Zip Code 28714

In zip code 28714, which covers the Burnsville, North Carolina area, there is one public high school, Mountain Heritage High, serving grades 9–12 as part of Yancey County Schools. Since this is the only high school in the area, its performance is the full picture for local families, and it doubles as the district’s overall high school profile in many reported metrics.

Mountain Heritage High stands out because it serves an extremely high-poverty student population — 98.91% of students receive free or reduced-price lunch — yet still posts strong results that exceed state averages in key areas. Its graduation rate is 94.4%, well above the North Carolina rate of 88.8%, and its chronic absenteeism rate is just 10.1%, compared to 24.2% statewide. The school also beats its own district on attendance, which is 15.1%, showing that this school is doing particularly well at keeping students engaged. The school currently holds a 3-star rating and ranks in the 65th percentile of North Carolina high schools, though its statewide ranking has been somewhat volatile: it went from the 66th percentile in 2023–2024, down to the 50th in 2024–2025, and back up to the 65th in 2025–2026.

Academically, Mountain Heritage High shows a mixed but largely positive picture compared to the state. In the most recent year, it outperformed North Carolina by wide margins in Biology (81.6% vs. 58.5%) and English II (77.6% vs. 64.6%), and it was slightly above the state in Math III (69.8% vs. 68.9%). Its clear weakness is Math I, where proficiency has remained stubbornly flat at 39.8% for two consecutive years and now trails the state average of 42.1%. The school saw dramatic year-over-year improvement in Biology and English II, with proficiency jumping 35.4 and 23.5 percentage points respectively — a strong rebound that likely contributed to its improved ranking. With a favorable student-teacher ratio of 13.6 to 1 and per-pupil spending of $11,483, Mountain Heritage High appears to be a solid choice for families, especially in terms of graduation, attendance, and science/English outcomes.