Summary:
Zip code 31602 in Valdosta, Georgia, is served by a single elementary school, W.G. Nunn Elementary, part of the Valdosta City School District, which enrolls 974 students in grades PK through 5.
W.G. Nunn Elementary serves an almost exclusively economically disadvantaged population, with 97.54% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch. The school shows encouraging signs of improvement, most notably a dramatic 15.4 percentage point jump in 3rd grade math proficiency—from 8.8% to 24.2%—between the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 school years. Fifth grade science also stands out, with 28.6% proficiency, which actually exceeds the district average of 28.2%. The school maintains a favorable student-teacher ratio of 13.9:1 and spends $13,877 per student, providing structural advantages despite its challenges. However, chronic absenteeism affects 21.9% of students, which is better than the district's 24.9% rate but still higher than the state's 17.7%. Academic performance remains below state averages across all subjects—for example, 3rd grade math proficiency is 24.2% versus the state's 48.3%—and the school's state ranking has fluctuated between the 7th and 17th percentiles over the past three years, currently sitting at the 17th percentile with a 1-star rating.
For parents, the key takeaway is that W.G. Nunn Elementary is a high-poverty school showing real, if uneven, progress. The 5th grade math scores (27.9%) are consistently the strongest at the school, suggesting effective upper-grade instruction, while the 3rd grade math gains point to potentially successful targeted interventions. The school's per-student spending and small class sizes are positive factors, but the pervasive effects of poverty and chronic absenteeism continue to suppress overall achievement. Parents should view this school as one in transition—with notable bright spots in science and 3rd grade math—but should also be prepared for the reality that proficiency rates trail state averages by roughly 20-25 points in most subjects.
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