Best High Schools in Zip Code 28734

Zip code 28734 in Franklin, North Carolina, is served by three public high schools—Franklin High, Macon Early College High School, and Bartram Academy—all part of Macon County Schools, serving grades 9 through 12 for about 1,252 students.

If you are looking at academic performance, Macon Early College High School is clearly the standout. Despite having the highest poverty rate in the group at 98% free/reduced-price lunch eligibility, it earns a 4-star rating and ranks in the 79th percentile statewide, with near-universal English II proficiency and a 93.9% graduation rate. By contrast, Franklin High, the largest school, is slipping a bit—dropping from the 56th to the 44th percentile over three years—though it retains a strong 94.8% graduation rate. Bartram Academy, however, is a school of serious concern: ranked in the 1st percentile with a 0-star rating, its graduation rate is only 64.9%, and nearly half of its students are chronically absent.

The biggest takeaway is that poverty does not predict outcomes here: Macon Early College proves that a well-structured early college model can help low-income students achieve far above district and state averages. Attendance is also strongly tied to performance, as Bartram Academy’s 47.7% chronic absenteeism rate aligns with its very low proficiency scores. Math I is a weakness across the district except at Macon Early College, where proficiency reaches 88.9% compared to the state’s 42.1%. Notably, Bartram Academy spends the most per student but performs worst, while Macon Early College spends the least but performs best. For families, this means the school choice within the same district matters enormously, and the biggest opportunities for improvement likely lie in addressing Bartram Academy’s attendance crisis and learning from Macon Early College’s success.