Schools in Zip Code 31701

Zip code 31701 in Albany, Georgia, is served by five schools in the Dougherty County district—one high school and four elementary schools—where every student qualifies for free or reduced lunch, reflecting a high-poverty community of nearly 2,900 students.

There is a stark performance divide among the elementary schools. Lincoln Elementary Magnet School is the clear standout, ranking in the 83rd percentile statewide with 4 stars and a remarkable 0.0% chronic absenteeism rate—far better than the district's 24.4% and state's 17.7%. Its 5th grade math proficiency (43.4%) more than doubles Northside Elementary School's rate (20.9%), and its science scores (65.2% vs. 37.5%) show an even wider gap. Lamar Reese School of the Arts is the second-best performer, ranking in the 73rd percentile with a 4.8% absenteeism rate, though it spends the most per student ($18,233) without outperforming Lincoln. Martin Luther King- Junior Elementary School and Northside lag significantly, with absenteeism rates above 29% and math proficiency in the teens to low 30s.

At the high school level, Monroe High School faces serious challenges. Its chronic absenteeism rate of 42.2% is nearly double the district average, and proficiency rates on end-of-course exams are roughly one-quarter to one-third of state averages—Algebra I at 12.4%, Biology at 20.9%, and US History at 19.0%, all declining from the prior year. The school's ranking has slipped to the 12th percentile. Encouragingly, its graduation rate of 88.7% exceeds the state average, suggesting students are persisting to graduation despite academic struggles. The pattern across this zip code is clear: schools with lower absenteeism achieve far better results, and the two magnet schools demonstrate that high achievement is possible even in high-poverty settings.