Best Public Schools in Zip Code 26444

Zip code 26444, serving Arthurdale and Tunnelton in Preston County, West Virginia, contains three schools—West Preston School, South Preston School, and Fellowsville Elementary—that together educate 975 students from pre-kindergarten through 8th grade, all under the Preston County Schools district.

For parents, the standout story is the dramatic difference between the two larger PK-8 schools. South Preston School is the clear academic leader, exceeding the district average in science and nearly matching the state average, with its 8th grade English Language Arts proficiency of 57.1% being the highest score in any subject across all three schools. In contrast, West Preston School, despite being the largest with 604 students, is struggling significantly—its state ranking has plummeted from the 38th percentile to the bottom 6% over two years, and it trails state averages by 11-16 percentage points in every core subject. Fellowsville Elementary offers an exceptionally intimate setting with a 7.3:1 student-teacher ratio, but its tiny enrollment of 59 students makes performance volatile; it dropped 136 ranking positions in one year and now lacks recent ranking data entirely.

The most urgent issue affecting both PK-8 schools is a dramatic collapse in 6th grade math proficiency—West Preston drops 22 points and South Preston drops 32 points from 5th grade levels, suggesting a systemic curriculum transition problem. Meanwhile, South Preston's success in upper-grade ELA and science offers a model worth replicating. Notably, spending doesn't correlate with outcomes: Fellowsville spends $16,144 per student (77% more than West Preston) yet performs poorly, while South Preston achieves the best results with mid-range spending of $11,354. All three schools rank in the bottom half of West Virginia, and the district itself sits at the 46th percentile, indicating room for improvement across the board.