Glynn County

Glynn County Schools serves more than 11,000 students across 17 schools in the Brunswick, Georgia area, including 10 elementary schools, 4 middle schools, 2 high schools, and 1 alternative school, spanning pre-kindergarten through 12th grade.

The district's standout performers are concentrated on St. Simons Island. Oglethorpe Point Elementary School is the district's top elementary school, ranking in the 93rd percentile statewide with a 5-star rating, and its math proficiency rates (75-80% across grades 3-5) are roughly 30 points above state averages. St. Simons Elementary School also earns 5 stars, with the district's single highest subject-grade score: 87.2% of 3rd graders proficient in math. At the high school level, Glynn Academy leads the way, ranking 51st of 455 Georgia high schools, with Biology proficiency (74.6%) and U.S. History proficiency (72.1%) far exceeding state averages. Brunswick High School posts an extraordinary 99.8% graduation rate despite serving a student body where 91% qualify for free/reduced lunch. The most improved schools include Risley Middle School, which jumped from the 66th to 80th percentile, and Glynn Middle School, rising from the 78th to 85th percentile. At the other end of the spectrum, Burroughs-Molette Elementary School ranks in the 9th percentile with only 15.3% of 5th graders proficient in math, while Goodyear Elementary School and Glyndale Elementary School also struggle, with chronic absenteeism at Glyndale reaching 27%.

A striking pattern emerges in middle school Algebra I: all four middle schools—Jane Macon Middle, Needwood Middle, Glynn Middle, and Risley Middle—report 95-100% proficiency on the Algebra I End of Course exam, far above the district average of 57%. This indicates the district successfully accelerates its top math students, though it also means students not in the accelerated track often score below state averages in standard 8th-grade math. Chronic absenteeism is a clear warning indicator: schools with the lowest absenteeism rates (Risley at 7.8%, Satilla Marsh Elementary at 8.4%, Greer Elementary at 9.6%) are among the highest performers, while the highest-absenteeism schools are the lowest performers. Notably, Sterling Elementary School, Altama Elementary School, and Golden Isles Elementary School fall in the middle range of performance. The district's 4-star overall rating masks a wide internal divide—families choosing between the island schools and mainland schools will encounter dramatically different academic environments, though schools like Satilla Marsh and Greer prove that high-poverty schools can achieve strong results with effective programming.