Summary:
Schools in zip code 23959 consist of a single elementary school, Phenix Elementary, serving grades PK through 5 with 226 students in the Phenix, Virginia area within Charlotte County Public Schools. As the only school in this zip code, Phenix Elementary defines the local educational landscape entirely. The school serves a highly economically disadvantaged population, with 90.71% of students eligible for free or reduced lunch, yet it still manages to exceed Virginia state averages in most tested subjects.
Phenix Elementary posts strong academic results overall, averaging roughly 81% proficiency across all 2025-2026 tests, compared to the state average of about 72%. The school's 4th grade cohort stands out as a bright spot, achieving 96.77% proficiency in VA Studies, 90.32% in mathematics, and 90.32% in reading. This represents dramatic year-over-year growth, particularly in VA Studies which jumped from 81.82% to 96.77%. The school's district, Charlotte County Public Schools, is ranked #4 out of 131 divisions in Virginia, and Phenix itself ranks in the 69th percentile of elementary schools statewide. With a student-teacher ratio of 14.1 and per-student spending of $8,795, the school has small class sizes and meaningful investment in resources.
The most pressing concern is chronic absenteeism, which sits at 30.1% — more than double the state rate of 14.8% and well above the district rate of 17.4%. This is especially concerning given that 3rd and 5th grade reading scores, where attendance issues often have the greatest impact, are the school's weakest areas. Additionally, the school's 5th grade reading proficiency dropped sharply from 89.29% to 71.88% from the prior year, a significant decline worth monitoring. However, the school's high-poverty population achieving above-state-average results is a noteworthy accomplishment. If attendance improves, Phenix Elementary has the instructional foundation and small class sizes to become a consistently high-performing school.
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