Banks County Elementary School, Homer GA

Original Research by School Decision on Banks County Elementary School

Banks County Elementary School is a public elementary school serving third through fifth grade students in Homer, Georgia, a rural county-seat town in the foothills of northeast Georgia. The school sits on Highway 51 South, one of a cluster of Banks County schools situated on the edge of town rather than in the historic downtown core.

The school enrolls a student body that is predominantly white, with smaller shares of Hispanic, Asian, and multiracial students. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic profile of the county. The school's enrollment is stable across the three grades it serves.

Academic performance at Banks County Elementary is below grade-level proficiency across tested subjects. In English language arts, proficiency rates across the grade span run in the low range; in math, students show slightly higher rates, with fourth grade performing a bit better than third or fifth. In fifth-grade science, proficiency is modest but the strongest result the school reports. Data on prior-year trends are limited to this most recent school year, so trajectory cannot yet be assessed. Parents interested in understanding the school's instructional priorities and near-term improvement plans may want to reach out directly to school leadership to learn what diagnostic work the school has done and what adjustments are underway.

The school serves a community shaped by Banks County's position at the Interstate 85 and U.S. Highway crossroads between Atlanta and Greenville. The county itself is experiencing growth driven by industrial and warehouse development at the Banks Crossing interchange, though population gains have outpaced housing and school-capacity expansion. Homer's residential character and its position along the historic Federal Road have made it the highest-priced city within the county. The broader town functions as a civic hub anchored by Veterans Memorial Park, the old courthouse (now a community center), and the public library, though daily commerce and traffic largely orient toward the I-85 corridor.

Housing in the Homer area sits above both state and national medians, reflecting the county's draw as a more affordable alternative to metro Atlanta while remaining within reasonable distance of the mountains and larger employment centers. The district's property-tax millage rate is set at the state-required minimum to remain eligible for Georgia's equalization aid, a factor that anchors school-tax obligations for any household considering relocation into the district.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 330%

School 30% · District 30%

▼ 10 pts below state median

Grade 437%

School 37% · District 37%

▼ 8 pts below state median

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 33%

▼ 5 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 327%

School 27% · District 27%

▼ 3 pts below state median

Grade 426%

School 26% · District 26%

▼ 8 pts below state median

Grade 532%

School 32% · District 32%

▼ 6 pts below state median

Science

Grade 539%

School 39% · District 39%

▼ 1 pts below state median

Social studies

Grades 3-889%

School 89% · district not reported

▲ 5 pts above state median

This schoolBanks County, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income19%Higher-income41%22 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income23%Higher-income42%20 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income27%Higher-income56%29 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income23%Higher-income47%24 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income35%Higher-income52%17 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income28%Higher-income41%12 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income24%Higher-income51%27 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income29%Higher-income48%19 pp gap