Summary:
Zip code 30307 in Atlanta, Georgia is home to two elementary schools serving grades PK-5 — Fernbank Elementary School and Mary Lin Elementary School — which together educate roughly 1,421 students in the Candler Park and Druid Hills neighborhoods.
Mary Lin Elementary is the clear standout in this area, ranking in the top 2% of all Georgia elementary schools (20th out of 1,219) and posting exceptional test scores: 83-91% proficiency in math and 87% in science, roughly double the state average. Its chronic absenteeism rate is just 1.9%, and only 5.32% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch. Fernbank Elementary is also a strong performer, ranking in the top 15% statewide (162nd) with a 4-star rating for three consecutive years. Fernbank achieves 60-76% math proficiency and 67.8% science proficiency, well above state averages, while serving a more economically diverse population (27.82% free/reduced lunch) and spending about 25% less per student ($17,952 vs. $24,003). Both schools dramatically outperform their respective districts — DeKalb County and Atlanta Public Schools — by 25-52 percentage points in math, making this zip code an island of high achievement within districts that struggle overall.
Year-over-year trends show both schools improving in most areas, with Mary Lin's 5th grade math reaching 91.3% proficiency and Fernbank's 3rd grade math climbing to 76.3%. Chronic absenteeism presents a dramatic contrast: Mary Lin's 1.9% rate is nearly 10 times better than the state average, while Fernbank's 11.3% is still better than state and district averages. Both schools have maintained stable rankings over three years, indicating sustained excellence rather than one-year anomalies. For parents, this zip code offers two excellent options: Mary Lin for elite, top-tier performance with minimal absenteeism, and Fernbank for strong, cost-effective education with greater economic diversity.
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