Best Public Schools in Odum, GA

Odum Elementary School is the only public school in Odum, Georgia, serving grades PK through 5 within the Wayne County school district, and it stands out as a high-performing institution despite serving a predominantly economically disadvantaged student body.

Odum Elementary consistently outperforms both its district and the state in every tested subject and grade level. In the most recent 2025-2026 school year, math proficiency rates ranged from 57.1% in 5th grade to 76.9% in 4th grade—the latter being nearly 27 percentage points above the state average. Science proficiency in 5th grade (57.1%) also exceeded the state by nearly 13 points. The school has earned top-quartile statewide rankings for three consecutive years, including a 5-star rating in 2023-2024 and 4-star ratings in the two most recent years. Its percentile ranking has ranged from 84th to 94th statewide, with a current rank of 175 out of 1,219 schools. With 73.5% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, this performance is particularly notable, suggesting effective instructional strategies and targeted interventions that are closing achievement gaps.

While the school's chronic absenteeism rate of 18.4% is slightly above the state average (17.7%), it remains better than the district rate of 22.4%. The school maintains a reasonable student-teacher ratio of 14.9:1 and spends $13,112 per student annually, yet achieves results far exceeding what these resource levels might predict. Year-over-year data shows consistent or improving performance in most subjects, with 4th grade math improving from 71.7% to 76.9%. As the sole school in Odum, it serves as a critical community anchor, providing local families with a high-quality educational option without requiring travel to larger nearby cities. Note that English Language Arts (ELA) scores for 2025-2026 have not yet been released; the most recent available data from 2024-2025 shows the school performing well above state averages in all tested grades.