Summary:
Zip code 31719 in Americus, Georgia, is served by five schools in the Sumter County district, enrolling about 3,560 students across elementary, middle, and high school grades in a high-poverty area where nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
The standout success story is Sumter County High School, which posts a remarkable 96.7% graduation rate—nearly 10 points above the state average—despite test scores that lag state norms by 30-plus points. Meanwhile, Sumter County Elementary School leads the district in attendance with just 9.2% chronic absenteeism, far better than the district's 13.0% and the state's 17.7%, even though all its students face economic disadvantage. In contrast, Sumter County Primary School has the worst attendance (16.2%) despite spending the most per student ($19,167), while the high school spends the least ($14,845) yet achieves the best outcomes. Sumter County Intermediate School offers the most complete academic picture, with 4th-grade math proficiency at 23.9% and 5th-grade science at 21.5%, both showing smaller gaps than other subjects.
Academic challenges are consistent district-wide, with every school below state averages in all tested subjects. The steepest decline appears in 7th-grade math at Sumter County Middle School, where only 6.1% of students are proficient—a 35.9-point gap—though 8th-grade science is a relative strength at 19.4% proficiency, just 10.3 points behind the state. Encouragingly, elementary math is improving (4th grade up 5.2 points, 5th grade up 3.5 points), while middle school math is slipping. US History proficiency is critically low at 7.3%. The high school's state ranking has declined to the 9th percentile, yet its graduation success suggests strong student support systems. With limited early-grade test data, parents should watch for literacy development signals, as prior 3rd-grade ELA proficiency was just 12.9%.
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