Summary:
Zip code 31563, serving the rural Surrency area of Georgia, is home to just one school: Fourth District Elementary School, a small PK-5 institution with 148 students under the Appling County district.
Fourth District Elementary stands out as a high-poverty school—95.27% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch—yet it delivers impressive early-grade results. In 3rd grade, the school outperforms the state by 16.4 points in Math (64.7% vs. 48.3%) and by 20.7 points in ELA (55.6% vs. 34.9% in 2024-2025). This is a remarkable achievement given the economic challenges. However, performance drops noticeably in upper grades: 4th-grade Math falls to 47.4% (below the district's 56.1%), and 4th-grade ELA plunges to 31.0%—8.3 points below the state average. 5th-grade Science is the weakest area at 35.5% proficiency, trailing both the district (47.8%) and state (44.2%). On a positive note, 5th-grade Math improved dramatically year-over-year, jumping from 33.3% to 51.6%.
The school's state ranking has been volatile, dropping from the 78th percentile (2023-2024) to the 58th (2024-2025), then recovering to the 63rd percentile (2025-2026). Chronic absenteeism is a bright spot at 13.3%, better than the district and state averages of 17.7%. The school also benefits from a favorable 12.6:1 student-teacher ratio and above-average per-student spending of $16,857. For parents, this school offers strong early-grade foundations and good attendance, but the transition to upper elementary grades—especially 4th-grade ELA and 5th-grade Science—appears to be a challenge worth monitoring. The upcoming ELA data release in December will provide a fuller picture of current-year performance.
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