Summary:
Zip code 30680 in Winder, Georgia, is served by three public high schools within the Barrow County School District, collectively enrolling about 4,785 students across grades 9-12.
The standout school in this area is Barrow Arts and Sciences Academy (BASA), a magnet-style school that consistently ranks in the top 10% of Georgia high schools with a 5-star rating. BASA outperforms both traditional high schools on every subject test—for example, 67.5% of its students are proficient in Algebra I compared to 42.7% at Apalachee High School and just 22.2% at Winder-Barrow High School. BASA also leads with a 97% graduation rate and the lowest chronic absenteeism (15.2%). Notably, BASA achieves these results with the lowest per-student spending ($12,392) and highest student-teacher ratio (16.3:1), suggesting that school model and student selection matter more than resources alone.
Among the traditional schools, Winder-Barrow High School is trending upward, jumping from the 42nd to 52nd percentile in state rankings and posting a remarkable 16.2-point improvement in U.S. History proficiency (now 44%, above the state average). Apalachee High School improved across all subjects year-over-year but still trails district averages and has the highest chronic absenteeism rate (28.5%, nearly double the district rate). Both traditional schools exceed the state graduation rate (87.2%), with Apalachee at 92.5% and Winder-Barrow at 90.7%. However, chronic absenteeism is a systemic challenge at both traditional schools—26.6% at Winder-Barrow—and correlates with lower test scores. Families choosing between these schools face a clear trade-off: BASA offers exceptional academic rigor, while the traditional schools provide a comprehensive high school experience with improving trajectories.
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