The top reported proficiency rate is 14% in English language arts. The lowest is 0% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on State Specialty Schools Ii- Cirrus Charter Academy
State Specialty Schools II - Cirrus Charter Academy operates as a K-8 charter school serving students across the Bibb County area. The school enrolls roughly five hundred students, with the largest concentrations in grades four and six, and the smallest in grade eight. The student body is predominantly Black, with smaller numbers of students from other racial and ethnic backgrounds.
The school's recent history carries real weight for families considering enrollment. Placed on state probation in September 2023 by the State Charter Schools Commission for chronic operational, financial, governance, and academic shortcomings, Cirrus was granted only a three-year charter contract renewal in February 2024 rather than the standard five-year term, with reevaluation scheduled for 2027. This shorter contract reflects state-level concerns about the school's track record and means its continued operation depends on meeting defined state benchmarks over the next charter cycle. Families should understand that this is not a stable long-term commitment from the state.
The positive side is that academic performance has moved upward. The school came off Georgia's list of the lowest-performing public schools in January 2024 and met the state commission's academic standards that same year, a milestone the school had reached only once before in its eight-year history. Current state testing results show proficiency rates that remain very low across both subjects and grades. In math, eighth-grade students show the strongest performance, while third-grade results are markedly weak. English language arts shows a similar pattern, with fourth-grade performing somewhat better than other elementary grades, and early grades again showing the lowest results. Science proficiency is low across the tested grades. In eighth-grade social studies, the school reported zero proficiency. These numbers place the school well below the midpoint among Bibb County's districts on overall proficiency.
The school does have one notable strength in attendance: its chronic absenteeism rate is among the lowest in the county, suggesting that when students are enrolled, they are present for instruction. Per-pupil spending is in the upper range for the county, indicating the school deploys substantial resources per student.
The charter's stated identity is as a STEAM school serving K-8 grades. No data on program particulars, course offerings, or special populations such as English learners or students with disabilities is available, so parents would want to ask the school directly about curriculum design, instructional approaches, and support services. The school's website, if available, or a direct conversation with administration would clarify what this STEAM focus means in practice.
For families considering this school, the central question turns on whether they believe the upward trajectory in academic performance signals a school turning a corner, or whether they prefer to wait and see whether that improvement holds and deepens over the coming years. The short-term charter agreement and low current proficiency numbers suggest a school still working to rebuild credibility and outcomes. The strong attendance pattern and recent state-noted improvements suggest some traction, but the gap between current results and county norms remains wide.
See more original research from School Decision →