Summary:
The city of Darien, Georgia, is served by three public schools within the McIntosh County School District, which together enroll about 1,394 students across elementary, middle, and high school grades, in a community where 95-100% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
For parents, the standout story is McIntosh Academy, the district's high school, which posts an exceptional 98.1% graduation rate—nearly 11 points above the state average—despite test scores that generally trail state norms. The middle school, McIntosh County Middle School, is the academic bright spot in math: its 6th grade proficiency rate of 51.5% beats the state by 10.8 points, and its Algebra I End of Course pass rate of 50% outpaces both the district and state. However, that math strength fades by 8th grade, where proficiency drops to 22.3%, and it does not carry into high school, where Algebra I proficiency at McIntosh Academy falls to 31.4%. Todd Grant Elementary School is the biggest concern: its ranking slid from the 48th to the 29th percentile, and 5th grade math proficiency collapsed to 21.3%—23 points below the state—after a sharp decline from the prior year. Chronic absenteeism is also uneven: the middle school (15.5%) is below the state average, but the elementary (19.8%) and high school (20.7%) both exceed it.
All three schools maintain favorable student-teacher ratios (13.4:1 to 14.1:1) and spend $13,000-$15,500 per student, above the state average, yet outcomes vary widely. The middle school's 6th grade math and Algebra I results, plus the high school's graduation rate, prove success is possible in this high-poverty district. The clearest takeaway for parents: the middle school offers strong early math instruction, the high school excels at getting students to graduation, but the elementary school's declining 5th grade performance and the overall drop in math proficiency between middle and high school are areas to watch closely.
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