Best Public Schools in Zip Code 22801

Zip code 22801, in the Harrisonburg, Virginia area, is served by 9 schools enrolling roughly 5,536 students in grades K-12: 6 elementary schools, 1 middle school, and 2 high schools. The schools are split between Harrisonburg City Public Schools (7 schools) and Rockingham County Public Schools (2 schools), and all serve largely economically disadvantaged populations, with free/reduced-price lunch eligibility ranging from 63.75% at Mountain View Elementary to 86.77% at Harrisonburg High and Thomas Harrison Middle.

At the high school level, Harrisonburg High has made a dramatic improvement in its state rank—from the 6th percentile in 2023-2024 to the 58th percentile (139 of 331) now—and it outperforms Rocktown High in nearly every SOL subject. However, Rocktown High posts the stronger completion metrics, with a 94.0% graduation rate and a 4.9% dropout rate, compared to 87.9% and 9.8% at Harrisonburg High. Among elementary schools, Keister Elementary is the strongest in the city, beating state averages in 5th grade math and science, while Pleasant Valley Elementary stands out with 85.4% proficiency in Virginia Studies and very low chronic absenteeism. Thomas Harrison Middle shows a 100% proficiency rate for 8th graders taking Algebra I, though its overall reading scores lag well behind the state.

Reading proficiency is the area's biggest systemic weakness, with several schools falling 20 to 40 points below state averages. Chronic absenteeism, however, is a bright spot at the elementary level—Bluestone Elementary (4.1%) and Mountain View Elementary (5.6%) are well below the state's 14.8%—while secondary attendance is more of a concern. Higher per-pupil spending does not consistently translate into better outcomes: Thomas Harrison Middle spends the most in the zip code ($12,006 per student) but ranks in the 21st percentile, while Keister Elementary spends the least and ranks higher. For parents, the overall picture is mixed—many schools struggle with state proficiency benchmarks, especially in reading, but Rocktown High's graduation rate, Harrisonburg High's rapid improvement, and strong elementary results in Keister Elementary and Pleasant Valley Elementary show clear pockets of excellence.