Summary:
There are two elementary schools serving zip code 30830 in Waynesboro, GA, both part of the Burke County school district, which together educate about 1,650 students in a feeder pattern where Waynesboro Primary School serves Pre-K through 2nd grade and Blakeney Elementary serves 3rd through 5th grade.
Both schools serve a student population where 100% of families qualify for free or reduced lunch, reflecting a uniformly low-income community. Waynesboro Primary School is the larger campus with 924 students and a higher student-teacher ratio of 13.3:1, while Blakeney Elementary has 726 students and a more favorable 11.9:1 ratio. Per-student spending is similar, with Waynesboro Primary at $21,239 and Blakeney at $20,448. Chronic absenteeism is a concern at the primary level, where 18.4% of students are chronically absent—above the state average of 17.7%—while Blakeney's rate of 16.9% is actually below both the state and district averages.
Test scores at Blakeney Elementary show proficiency rates roughly half of state averages across all subjects, with math proficiency ranging from 24.9% in 4th grade to 27.9% in 5th grade, compared to state rates of 44-50%. However, the school showed encouraging year-over-year gains in four of five tested areas, including a 7.5-point jump in 5th grade science to 30.1% proficiency. The notable exception is 4th grade math, which dropped sharply from 32.5% to 24.9%. The school's state ranking has been volatile, swinging from the 29th to 17th to 19th percentile over three years. While both schools spend over $20,000 per student, results remain below state averages, suggesting that despite significant resources and a lower student-teacher ratio at Blakeney, the schools face substantial challenges tied to their high-poverty population. The strong science gains offer a potential model for improvement, while the 4th grade math decline warrants targeted attention.
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