Dawson Elementary School

Dawson Elementary School is a public elementary school in Columbus, Georgia, serving 309 students in grades PK-5. The school is part of the Muscogee County School District, which is ranked 155 out of 203 districts in the state and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Dawson Elementary has consistently struggled with low academic performance, ranking in the bottom 10% of Georgia elementary schools over the past several years. In the 2023-2024 school year, only 22% of 3rd graders, 10.9% of 4th graders, and 14.6% of 5th graders at Dawson Elementary were proficient or better in English Language Arts, significantly lower than the Dawson Elementary and state averages. The school also has an extremely high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 96.44% to 96.77%, which is much higher than the surrounding schools in the district.

Despite spending more per student ($10,203 to $10,417) than the nearby schools, which range from $8,012 to $11,031 per student, Dawson Elementary is not seeing commensurate improvements in academic performance. The school also has a higher student-teacher ratio (13.7 to 16.6) compared to the surrounding schools, which range from 12.3 to 19.5 students per teacher. These factors suggest that Dawson Elementary faces significant challenges in terms of academic achievement, poverty concentration, and effective resource allocation that will require a comprehensive, data-driven approach to address.