Douglas County

Douglas County Schools serve approximately 22,000 students across 35 schools in the Atlanta metro area, including 21 elementary schools, 8 middle schools, 5 high schools, and 1 alternative school, with the district earning a 2-star rating and ranking 109th out of 201 Georgia districts.

For parents, the standout schools in the district are South Douglas Elementary School and Holly Springs Elementary School, both earning 4-star ratings with math proficiency rates exceeding 60% and chronic absenteeism below 9%. At the middle school level, Fairplay Middle School leads the district with a 79th percentile ranking and 100% proficiency in Algebra I, while Chapel Hill High School posts the highest graduation rate at 94.6% and leads all high schools in Algebra I proficiency at 54.2%. On the other end, Lithia Springs Comprehensive High School faces significant challenges with a 48.8% chronic absenteeism rate—nearly triple the state average—and the lowest graduation rate at 81.9%, while Burnett Elementary School and Eastside Elementary School rank in the bottom 15% of Georgia elementary schools.

The district shows notable strengths in 8th grade science, where the average proficiency of 33% exceeds the state average of 29.7%, and all middle schools offering Algebra I report proficiency rates above 66%, with several at 100%. However, chronic absenteeism is a district-wide concern at 22.1% versus the state's 17.7%, and there is a clear performance gap tied to poverty levels—top schools like South Douglas and Holly Springs have free/reduced lunch rates below 58%, while struggling schools exceed 85%. Encouragingly, three of five high schools improved their state rankings this year, including Douglas County High School jumping from the 43rd to 64th percentile. Per-student spending varies widely from $10,490 to $18,011, but higher spending does not consistently translate to better outcomes, suggesting factors like attendance and family engagement play critical roles in student success.