The top reported proficiency rate is 32% in English language arts. The lowest is 15% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on State Specialty Schools Ii- Zest Preparatory Academy School
State Specialty Schools II- Zest Preparatory Academy School is a public charter district serving kindergarten through fifth grade in Douglas County, Georgia. The entity comprises a single school, Zest Preparatory Academy, which opened in August 2023. However, the school is closing. The board has requested that the State Charter Schools Commission accept termination of its state charter, ending this tuition-free public elementary option. Families currently enrolled will need to secure alternative placements for the coming school year.
Before that transition, the school operated as Georgia's first tuition-free public charter school in Douglas County, with a literacy and leadership focus across its early grades. The school served a small enrollment, primarily drawn from Douglas County. The student body was predominantly Black, with smaller numbers of students identifying as multiracial or Hispanic, and a very small number of white students. Enrollment was concentrated in the younger grades; kindergarten was the largest cohort, while fourth and fifth grades held no enrollment in the most recent school year.
Academically, the school's results have been weak. State testing data are available for third and fourth grade in English language arts and math in the 2024-25 school year. In third-grade ELA, proficiency reached roughly the middle of the range. Third-grade math and fourth-grade ELA proficiency fell below that baseline. Fourth-grade math proficiency was substantially lower, reflecting very few students meeting grade-level benchmarks. When all tested grades and subjects are averaged together, the school's overall proficiency sits well below its neighbors among Douglas County's other districts.
No data on free-or-reduced-price lunch eligibility, special education enrollment, or English learner population were available in the records reviewed. Chronic absenteeism, graduation rate, and per-pupil spending were not applicable or reported for this entity. The school's short operational history, limited grade span, and now-pending closure limit what a full academic or fiscal profile can show.
For a parent who had enrolled a child at Zest Preparatory Academy, the immediate priority is securing a new school placement before closure. For a resident or prospective family asking about this charter option in Douglas County, the school is no longer available as a choice.
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