Clinch County Middle School

Clinch County Middle School in Homerville, GA, serves 282 students in grades 6-8 in a rural southern Georgia community, and is part of the Clinch County district.

One of the school's standout strengths is attendance. The chronic absenteeism rate is just 7.1%—less than half the state average of 17.7% and dramatically better than nearby Atkinson County Middle School (17.2%) and Lanier County Middle School (15.3%). This has been a consistent pattern for five years, including a remarkable recovery from a pandemic-era spike of 28.5% in 2021-2022 down to 11.0% the very next year. In academics, 7th grade math is a bright spot—proficiency there (37.9%) nearly matches the state average (42%), and in two of the past three years the school has actually met or exceeded the state in this subject. However, 6th and 8th grade math lag by roughly 17 percentage points, and 8th grade science is the biggest challenge, with only 13.9% proficient versus 29.7% statewide. That science gap is also much wider than at neighboring schools, where proficiency ranges from 29.2% to 37.4%.

The school's overall state ranking has been volatile. After climbing from the bottom 11% in 2018-2019 to the 55th percentile by 2020-2021, it has slipped back to the 33rd percentile in the current year. This decline coincides with a jump in economic need—the free/reduced lunch rate rose to 100% in 2024-2025, up from about 69% the year before. Notably, both Atkinson County Middle (73rd percentile) and Lanier County Middle (71st percentile) rank far higher despite serving similar rural populations with comparable poverty levels. Spending per student ($12,612) is in line with these neighbors, suggesting the performance gap isn't about resources but may point to differences in instructional approaches or leadership that could be addressed through collaboration.