Best Public Schools in Zip Code 25303

Zip code 25303 in South Charleston, WV, is served by four schools—two elementary schools, one middle school, and one small alternative high school—totaling 859 students across the Kanawha County Schools district.

Families in this area will find a stark contrast between the elementary and middle school experience. Montrose Elementary School is the clear academic leader, ranking 95th out of 355 elementary schools statewide with a 4-star rating. Its math proficiency of 63.9% is 24.5 points above the state average, and it showed remarkable improvement, jumping 99 spots in a single year. Weberwood Elementary School is also strong, ranking 124th with 56% math proficiency, and it excels particularly in 5th-grade science (47.4% vs. 34.6% statewide). Both elementary schools outperform state averages in most subjects, with Montrose leading in early-grade math and Weberwood showing exceptional upper-grade ELA results. However, South Charleston Middle School presents a serious concern—it ranks in the bottom 20% of middle schools statewide (132nd of 161) with just 23.4% math proficiency and 34.5% ELA proficiency. The most alarming metric is 8th-grade math, where only 18.8% of students are proficient, less than half the state rate. This represents a dramatic 36-point drop from the elementary schools' performance, suggesting a problematic transition or curriculum misalignment. WIN Academy at BVCTC serves just 34 students in grades 11-12 as an alternative program with no test data available.

For parents, the key takeaway is that elementary education in 25303 is solid—particularly at Montrose—but the middle school years require careful attention. Student-teacher ratios are favorable at the elementary level (14.9:1 and 15.4:1) but rise to 17.7:1 at the middle school. Per-student spending is similar across schools ($11,795-$12,655), indicating funding isn't the differentiator. With no traditional high school in the zip code, families should plan for students to transition to neighboring areas after 8th grade, making the middle school's math struggles especially critical for high school readiness.