Summary:
Zip code 31313 in Hinesville, Georgia, is home to six elementary schools serving grades PK/K through 5th grade, all part of the Liberty County school district, which ranks in the 36th percentile statewide.
There is a dramatic divide in performance within this small area. Taylors Creek Elementary School is the clear standout, ranking in the 89th percentile statewide with 4 stars, while every other school ranks in the bottom half of Georgia schools. Taylors Creek achieves math proficiency rates of 65-78% across grades 3-5, compared to just 16-49% at the other five schools. Its 5th grade science proficiency (68.4%) is nearly double the state average (44.2%). At the opposite end, Lyman Hall Elementary School ranks in the 9th percentile with 0 stars, and its math proficiency rates (16-21%) are dramatically below district and state averages. The other four schools — Frank Long, Button Gwinnett, Waldo Pafford, and Joseph Martin — cluster together in the 28th-35th percentile range, with proficiency rates generally 10-30 points below state averages.
Chronic absenteeism is a major challenge across the district, with a 28.4% rate versus the 17.7% state average. However, Taylors Creek's rate is just 12.8% — lower than the state average and less than half the district rate. This attendance-achievement correlation is striking. Most schools also show math proficiency declining as students advance from 3rd to 5th grade, while Taylors Creek maintains high scores across all grades. Notably, the two highest-spending schools (Lyman Hall at $13,733/student and Frank Long at $13,325/student) are among the lowest performers, suggesting resource allocation alone doesn't drive outcomes. All six schools serve predominantly low-income populations (76-100% free/reduced lunch), making Taylors Creek's success particularly noteworthy — it demonstrates that high-poverty schools can achieve strong results, and its model deserves attention from the rest of the district.
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