Summary:
Zip code 30217, serving the Franklin, Georgia area, is home to four schools within the Heard County School District, which collectively serve approximately 2,040 students from elementary through high school in a predominantly rural, economically disadvantaged region.
The standout performer in this area is Centralhatchee Elementary School, which earned a 5-star rating and ranks in the 93rd percentile statewide despite nearly 98% of its students qualifying for free/reduced lunch. This school dramatically outperforms its larger counterpart, Heard Elementary School, in mathematics proficiency—posting 81% versus 35.7% in 3rd grade and 67.8% versus 28.1% in 5th grade. Centralhatchee also benefits from a lower student-teacher ratio (10.4:1) and higher per-student spending ($16,014) compared to Heard Elementary's 14.1:1 ratio and $13,528 spending. Heard County Middle School is another exceptional school, jumping from the 78th to the 96th percentile in just two years and now ranking 25th out of 578 middle schools statewide. Its 8th grade students achieve remarkable results, with 75.2% proficiency in math, 59.8% in science, and 78.1% in social studies—all far exceeding state averages—while doing so with the lowest per-student spending in the district at $11,472.
Heard County High School has improved from a 3-star to a 4-star rating and exceeds state averages on end-of-course exams in Algebra I, Biology, and U.S. History, with a strong 92.4% graduation rate. However, its chronic absenteeism rate of 17.6% is the highest in the district and slightly above the state average. Overall, this district is a success story, ranking in the 87th percentile statewide with a 4-star rating. The primary area of concern is Heard Elementary, where proficiency rates lag significantly behind both district and state averages, suggesting that resource allocation and instructional strategies may be key factors in the dramatic performance differences observed across these schools.
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