Summary:
Zip code 28803 is home to two public middle-level schools — Koontz Intermediate and Reynolds Middle — both part of Buncombe County Schools in the Asheville area. Together they serve 1,215 students: Koontz covers grades 5–6 with 725 students, while Reynolds covers grades 6–8 with 490 students. Both schools serve very high-poverty populations, with 99.17% of Koontz students and 98.16% of Reynolds students eligible for free/reduced-price lunch. Despite this challenge, each school has clear academic strengths.
Koontz stands out for its attendance: just 14.5% chronic absenteeism, well below Reynolds (23.3%), the district (18.7%), and the state (24.2%). Koontz also outperforms Reynolds in 6th grade — the grade they share — in both math (52.0% vs. 50.0%) and reading (55.3% vs. 52.4%), and its 6th-grade reading exceeds state averages. Reynolds, however, excels in the upper grades: 7th-grade math (58.3%) and reading (57.6%) beat both district and state averages, and 8th-grade science (70.8%) tops the state. Reynolds also made impressive one-year gains, including increases of 9.1 points in 7th-grade reading and 11.2 points in 8th-grade science.
Interestingly, Reynolds actually spends more per pupil ($10,391 vs. $8,533) and has a lower student-to-teacher ratio (15.0 vs. 18.1), yet still has higher absenteeism and weaker 6th-grade scores than Koontz. Koontz's 5th-grade math jumped 8.8 points, but its 6th-grade math fell 5.8 points — highlighting how schoolwide averages can hide grade-level swings. Since Koontz likely feeds into Reynolds, its strong 6th-grade results may partly explain Reynolds' 7th-grade success. For parents, Koontz offers strong attendance and reading foundations, while Reynolds offers stronger upper-grade academics and science; both schools deserve consideration depending on your child's grade level and needs.
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