Summary:
Zip code 30217 in Franklin, Georgia is home to two elementary schools—Heard Elementary School and Centralhatchee Elementary School—both serving grades PK through 5 within the Heard County School District, a 4-star district that ranks in the 87th percentile statewide.
Centralhatchee Elementary School is the standout performer in this area, earning a 5-star rating and ranking in the 93rd percentile statewide. Despite nearly 98% of its students qualifying for free/reduced lunch, Centralhatchee outperforms the state average in every subject and grade level tested. In 3rd grade math, 81% of its students are proficient compared to just 35.7% at Heard Elementary School and 48.3% statewide. The gap widens in 5th grade math, where Centralhatchee's 67.8% proficiency rate is more than double Heard's 28.1%. Centralhatchee also maintains a lower chronic absenteeism rate (11.9% vs. 14.4% at Heard), a better student-teacher ratio (10.4:1 vs. 14.1:1), and higher per-student spending ($16,014 vs. $13,528).
Both schools share a notable strength in 5th grade science, with Centralhatchee at 67.8% and Heard at 64% proficiency—both well above the state average of 44.2%. However, Heard Elementary School has struggled in mathematics, with its statewide ranking dropping from the 70th percentile in 2023-2024 to the 56th percentile in 2025-2026. Centralhatchee's ranking, by contrast, has improved steadily from the 89th to the 93rd percentile over the same period. While current-year ELA scores are not yet available, last year's data showed Centralhatchee exceeding state averages by significant margins in all grade levels. For parents, Centralhatchee clearly demonstrates that high-poverty schools can achieve exceptional results, while Heard offers solid science instruction but lags in math—a gap the district may want to address by studying Centralhatchee's successful approaches.
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