Best Public Schools in Locust Grove, GA

Locust Grove, Georgia, is served by nine public schools within the Henry County district, including five elementary schools, two middle schools, and two high schools, educating roughly 8,000 students in a predominantly lower-income community.

There is a clear academic leader in this city: New Hope Elementary is the only school to earn a 3-star rating, ranking in the 61st percentile statewide. It outperforms every other local school in math and science proficiency, and its chronic absenteeism rate of 11.8% is far below the district average of 19.6%. This success is notable given that nearly 59% of its students qualify for free or reduced lunch. At the other end of the spectrum, Bethlehem Elementary and Luella Elementary rank in the bottom 25% statewide, with math proficiency declining sharply as students advance from 3rd to 5th grade. Among middle schools, Locust Grove Middle excels at accelerating top students—90.7% of its Algebra I students scored proficient—but its grade-level math scores lag state averages by 12-20 points. Luella Middle is the most concerning, with a state ranking that has fallen to the 11th percentile and a physical science proficiency rate of just 18.3% versus the district's 63.8%.

Both high schools—Locust Grove High and Luella High School—graduate students at rates above the state average (93.4% and 93.3% vs. 87.2%), yet their Algebra I proficiency rates (18.8% and 17%) are less than half the state average of 48.1%. Chronic absenteeism is a district-wide issue, with six of nine schools exceeding the state average; Locust Grove Elementary and Locust Grove High have the highest rates at roughly 27%. Per-student spending varies widely from $11,293 at Luella Middle to $15,566 at Locust Grove Elementary, but higher spending does not correlate with better outcomes—New Hope spends less than Locust Grove Elementary yet achieves far superior results. Overall, this district faces systemic challenges, but New Hope Elementary demonstrates that high achievement is possible despite socioeconomic hurdles.