Summary:
Funston, Georgia is home to a single elementary school, Funston Elementary School, which serves grades PK through 5 and is part of the Colquitt County school district. This small, rural school has made remarkable strides in recent years, moving from the 36th percentile in state rankings during the 2023-2024 school year to the 70th percentile in 2025-2026—a jump of 437 positions that now places it solidly in the upper third of all Georgia elementary schools.
Funston Elementary stands out as a high-poverty school (100% of students receive free or reduced lunch) that is outperforming expectations. In 5th-grade math, 62.2% of students are proficient, which is 18.1 percentage points above the state average, and in 5th-grade science, 52.8% are proficient, exceeding the state by 8.6 points. The school also shows strong year-over-year growth, with 5th-grade science improving by 16 points and 3rd-grade math by 10.3 points. However, 4th-grade math remains a weak spot at 49% proficiency, below both the district (56.5%) and state (50.1%) averages. The school benefits from a favorable 12:1 student-teacher ratio and spends $18,752 per student, which appears to be translating into measurable gains.
One of the most compelling factors behind this success is attendance: the chronic absenteeism rate is just 9.3%, roughly half the state average of 17.7%. This consistency in the classroom likely contributes to the school's rapid improvement. With a 4-star rating and a trajectory that suggests systemic progress, Funston Elementary is a model for rural school success. Note that English Language Arts (ELA) scores for 2025-2026 have not yet been released and will be available in December; the most recent ELA data showed the school below state averages, so future results will be key to seeing if the upward trend extends to literacy as well.
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