Georgia Fugees Academy Charter School, Atlanta GA

Original Research by School Decision on Georgia Fugees Academy Charter School

Georgia Fugees Academy Charter School is a small charter school serving grades six through twelve in Atlanta that enrolls students who are predominantly refugees and immigrants. The school's mission centers on serving a population with recent arrival and multilingual backgrounds: published enrollment data shows substantial shares of Asian and Black students, with more than three-quarters of enrolled students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The geographic catchment and student composition reflect a school built specifically around this identity.

State testing results across the most recent year show proficiency rates well below what is typical for the state. In English language arts across tested grades, proficiency ranged from below one-fifth in sixth grade to roughly one-quarter in eighth grade. Mathematics proficiency was lower still, with sixth grade showing no students meeting proficiency on the state assessment and seventh grade at roughly one-tenth; eighth grade fared somewhat better at about four in ten. Science and social studies proficiency in eighth grade were in the low-to-mid range. The school's overall proficiency index places it above the midpoint among DeKalb County districts, though this positioning reflects both the school's performance and the county's own performance distribution. State testing data for high school grades was not available, likely because the school's high school enrollment is small and state results are typically withheld when tested groups are very small.

The school's student body is small, with roughly mid-range total enrollment spread unevenly across grades, with stronger middle school cohorts and much smaller high school grades. This size and grade distribution shape the school's capacity to offer typical high school programming; no course-access, staffing, or program-offering data was provided. A parent may want to look into what secondary pathways, electives, or post-secondary support the school offers at the high school level, given the constraints of serving small ninth through twelfth grade cohorts.

A significant development for families considering this school is the completion of a major capital project: Fugees Family, the organization that operates the academy, secured a substantial challenge grant in recent years toward construction of a permanent campus at a fixed Atlanta address after operating from temporary and leased facilities. This shift to a purpose-built, permanent home is material for families evaluating long-term stability and program environment. The campus remains new and reflects investment in the school's physical plant and durability.

For families seeking a school explicitly designed for refugee and immigrant students with significant English learner and economic diversity, this school offers a clear mission alignment. For families primarily focused on state assessment performance or breadth of high school offerings, the data suggests a closer look at program detail and long-term academic trajectory would be warranted.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=50%Cohort of 11 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

467 schools plotted. 22 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 60%

School 0% · District 0%

▼ 31 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Grade 78%

School 8% · District 8%

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 841%

School 41% · District 41%

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 619%

School 19% · District 19%

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 717%

School 17% · District 17%

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 823%

School 23% · District 23%

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Science

Grade 820%

School 20% · District 20%

▼ 6 pts below state median · even with county median

Social studies

Grade 824%

School 24% · District 24%

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

This schoolState Specialty Schools II- Georgia Fugees Academy Charter, 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

Grades 3-8Lower-income20%Higher-income31%11 pp gap

Mathematics

Grades 3-8Lower-income10%Higher-income28%18 pp gap