Kennedy Elementary School, Winder GA

Original Research by School Decision on Kennedy Elementary School

Kennedy Elementary School is a pre-K through fifth-grade school in Winder, Georgia, serving roughly seven hundred elementary students in a district-wide system that spans Barrow County. The school's enrollment reflects the demographic shifts of metro Atlanta's growth corridor: about a third of students are Hispanic, a third white, a significant minority Black, and smaller shares Asian and multiracial. Three-quarters of the enrollment qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a rate well above national averages and characteristic of economically stretched working families in newer suburban and exurban areas.

The academic picture is a straightforward one. Proficiency rates on Georgia's state assessments are low across tested subjects and grades. In English language arts, proficiency clusters around low double digits; math proficiency is modestly higher, in the mid-to-upper thirties; science proficiency, tested only in fifth grade, sits in the low twenties. These numbers reflect strains common to schools serving high-poverty populations with significant language-diversity needs, and a parent looking at Kennedy should understand that this is a school where academic support and interventions are primary work.

The school sits within Barrow County, a rapidly growing outer-metro county northeast of Atlanta that is simultaneously a real estate hot spot and a district managing significant challenges. The county has invested in its infrastructure through voter-approved education sales tax extensions and has made dramatic expansions to school security following the 2024 shooting at Apalachee High School. The district doubled its School Resource Officer presence and has committed to maintaining that expanded on-campus law-enforcement footprint. For families considering the area, this is a tangible reality in the school day.

Winder itself is a historic railroad town turned bedroom community, with a walkable downtown core around Broad Street but an overall car-dependent layout. The housing market has grown substantially; new home construction is brisk, and the median home value is accessible by regional standards. The area draws families seeking affordable entry into the Atlanta metro without the drive burden of living further out, and the school district's willingness to invest in facilities and security signals institutional commitment to managing rapid growth.

Kennedy serves a student population navigating real economic pressure and linguistic diversity. The test scores reflect that reality plainly. A parent should weigh this school as part of a district and town in real transition, one where growth is remaking the community and where the school system is working visibly to keep pace with enrollment and safety demands. The question for families is whether the school's existing academic supports and the district's broader trajectory align with their child's needs and their own priorities.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 341%

School 41% · District 40% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 444%

School 44% · District 41% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 534%

School 34% · District 37% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 326%

School 26% · District 27% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 430%

School 30% · District 32% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 527%

School 27% · District 38% · ▼ 11 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 522%

School 22% · District 30% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Social studies

Grades 3-885%

School 85% · district not reported

▲ 1 pts above state median

This schoolBarrow 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-income33%Higher-income61%28 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income28%Higher-income19%10 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income37%Higher-income48%11 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income33%Higher-income41%9 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income45%Higher-income57%11 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income30%Higher-income37%8 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income39%Higher-income42%3 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income38%Higher-income45%7 pp gap