Elementary Schools in Berrien County

Berrien County is served by two elementary schools—Berrien Primary School (grades PK-2) and Berrien Elementary School (grades 3-5)—which together educate about 1,477 students in the Nashville, GA area, with both schools reporting 100% free/reduced lunch eligibility.

These two schools form a natural progression, and the differences between them are striking. Berrien Primary School is the larger campus (785 students) and receives more resources: it spends $13,122 per student (about $1,537 more than the elementary school) and maintains a better student-teacher ratio of 14.5:1 versus 16.3:1 at Berrien Elementary School. The primary school also has lower chronic absenteeism at 17.5%, which beats both the district (19.0%) and state (17.7%) averages. In contrast, Berrien Elementary School has a chronic absenteeism rate of 20.8%, above both averages. The investment in early grades appears to pay off: 3rd grade math proficiency jumped an impressive 9.6 points year-over-year to 52.3%, and the elementary school now outperforms state averages in math at every grade level (3rd: 52.3% vs. 48.3%; 4th: 58.3% vs. 50.1%; 5th: 48.3% vs. 44.1%).

Despite the 100% poverty rate, Berrien Elementary School shows strong academic results, though challenges remain. Its best subject is 4th grade math at 58.3% proficiency, while 5th grade science (44.0%) essentially matches the state average. English Language Arts is the weakest area, with 3rd and 5th grades falling about 5 points below state averages, though 4th grade ELA (41.9%) exceeds the state. The school's state ranking has improved from the 62nd to 67th percentile, and the district overall ranks in the 85th percentile (4 stars) statewide. The primary school's lower absenteeism and higher investment appear to build a strong foundation, but the elementary school's higher absenteeism and ELA gaps point to clear opportunities for targeted support in the upper grades.