Best Middle Schools in Zip Code 23234

Zip code 23234 contains two middle schools serving grades 6–8: Falling Creek Middle in North Chesterfield and Thomas C. Boushall Middle in Richmond, located along the same Hopkins Road corridor but split between Chesterfield County Public Schools and Richmond City Public Schools. Both rank near the very bottom of Virginia middle schools — Falling Creek at 409th and Boushall at 415th out of 416 — making this one of the most challenged middle school zones in the state.

Despite their proximity, the two schools tell very different stories. Falling Creek is more than twice as large, with 1,443 students, and has a lower poverty rate (75.74% free/reduced lunch), yet a startling 35.1% of its students are chronically absent — roughly two and a half times the state rate of 14.8%. Boushall, serving 621 students with 99.36% poverty, has a chronic absenteeism rate of just 12.2%, which is better than the state average and far better than its wealthier neighbor. Boushall also spends 51% more per student ($11,894 vs. $7,856) and has a lower student-teacher ratio (10.0 vs. 12.5), yet its overall test scores remain just as low, proving that money and attendance alone are not enough to overcome the scale of need.

On standard grade-level subjects, both schools average roughly 36–38% proficiency versus a 70% state average. The brightest spot is advanced math: Falling Creek's 8th-grade Algebra I proficiency soared to 92.5%, essentially tying the state average, while Boushall accelerates earlier with 80.8% proficiency in 7th-grade Algebra I and 69.7% in 8th-grade Geometry. Meanwhile, science is the most critical weakness — only 20.8% of Falling Creek and 13.4% of Boushall 8th-graders are proficient, versus 64.7% statewide — and reading proficiency sits near 40–45%, leaving roughly 6 in 10 students below grade level. For parents, the key takeaways are that Falling Creek's absenteeism demands immediate attention, while Boushall's advanced math pathway shows real promise; both schools, however, have far to go on foundational math and science.