Summary:
The DeKalb County Eastern Com School District contains just two elementary schools, both serving grades K–6: Butler Elementary School with 366 students and Riverdale Elementary School with 300 students, for a combined enrollment of 666. As a district, it ranks 157 of 374 districts statewide — the 58th percentile, with 3 stars. That middle-of-the-road district rating hides a dramatic split between its two schools.
Riverdale Elementary School is the standout, ranking 251 of 1,015 schools (75th percentile, 4 stars) and holding a 4-star rating for three straight years. Its 2025–2026 all-grade proficiency is 45.34% in ELA, 54.66% in Math, and 58.67% in Science — above the district in every subject and above the state in 10 of 11 grade-level comparisons. Butler Elementary School is the opposite: 828 of 1,015 (18th percentile, 1 star), and a 1-star school for three years running. Butler's all-grade proficiency is 19.82% in ELA, 25.23% in Math, and 26.13% in Science — below the district in every subject and below the state in all 11 grade-level comparisons. Riverdale leads Butler by 25.52 points in ELA, 29.43 in Math, 32.54 in Science, and 53.36 in 5th-grade Social Studies.
Both schools keep chronic absenteeism below district (14.6%) and state (16.7%) averages — Riverdale at 6.7%, Butler at 11.0% — and Riverdale's much lower rate lines up with its stronger results. Butler's free/reduced lunch eligibility is 68.31% versus 41.67% at Riverdale. Interestingly, Butler spends more per student ($12,980 vs. $10,838) and has a smaller student-teacher ratio (13.6 vs. 17.8) yet posts far lower proficiency; this inverse pattern is not evidence of causation. Both schools are weakest in 3rd-grade Math, and grade-level results in a two-school district can swing on small cohorts.
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