Summary:
Zip code 30512, covering the Blairsville area of Union County, Georgia, is home to just one middle school: Union County Middle School, which serves grades 6 through 8 with an enrollment of 641 students.
Union County Middle School is a standout for its exceptional Algebra I performance, with an 85.3% proficiency rate in 2025-2026—dramatically outpacing the state average of 48.1% by 37.2 percentage points. This strength is consistent, as the school posted an 85.7% rate the prior year. However, grade-level math tells a more mixed story: 6th and 7th graders exceed state averages by 4.9 and 7.2 points, respectively, while 8th-grade math sits slightly below the state average (-0.9 points). The school also lags in 8th-grade science (-2.1 points) and social studies (-3.7 points) compared to the state. Notably, the school serves a high-poverty population, with 78.63% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, yet it still outperforms the state in most tested subjects—a resilience worth noting for parents.
Year-over-year trends show some concern: 6th-grade math dropped 7.5 points and 8th-grade math fell 5.8 points from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026, with science also declining 4.3 points. These shifts contributed to the school's state ranking slipping from the 72nd percentile (4 stars) to the 63rd percentile (3 stars). Chronic absenteeism stands at 18.2%, higher than the district's 14.9% and slightly above the state's 17.7%, which may be a factor in the declines. The school operates within the Union County district, which ranks 39th out of 201 Georgia districts (81st percentile, 4 stars). With a 14:1 student-teacher ratio and $14,138 per-student spending, resources appear solid. For parents, this school offers a strong advanced math program and overall above-average performance despite economic challenges, but the recent downward trends and attendance issues are worth monitoring.
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