Summary:
Zip code 39851 in Fort Gaines, Georgia, is served by two public schools within the Clay County School District, covering grades PK-5 and 6-8, in a community where 100% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.
For parents comparing the two schools, Clay County Middle School is the standout performer, having made a remarkable turnaround from a 0-star rating in 2022-2023 to a 2-star rating and 40th percentile ranking today. Its 8th-grade science proficiency (40%) is well above the state average (28.8%), and its chronic absenteeism rate of 6.3% is less than half the state average. However, the school struggles significantly in 8th-grade social studies, where only 6.7% of students are proficient compared to the state's 38.8%. In contrast, Clay County Elementary School shows a concerning pattern of declining math scores as students advance: 3rd graders exceed the state average (57.1% vs. 48.3%), but by 5th grade, proficiency drops to just 20.9% compared to the state's 44.1%. The same 5th-grade cohort also scores very low in science (20.9% vs. 44.2% statewide).
Both schools benefit from exceptionally low chronic absenteeism (8.9% and 6.3% vs. 17.7% statewide) and very small class sizes, with student-teacher ratios of 8.9:1 at the elementary and 5.7:1 at the middle school. Per-student spending is remarkably high—$32,172 at the elementary and $42,618 at the middle school—yet overall academic performance remains below state averages in most subjects. This suggests that while resources and attendance are strong, they are not translating into commensurate academic gains. The middle school's dramatic improvement over two years demonstrates that progress is possible in this high-poverty district, offering a hopeful model for the elementary school to follow.
Thank you for your feedback!