Alexander Ii Magnet School, Macon GA

Original Research by School Decision on Alexander Ii Magnet School

Alexander II Magnet School serves children from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in downtown Macon, a mid-sized Central Georgia city with a revitalized downtown core and long-established neighborhoods. The school sits in a city anchored by healthcare, higher education, and insurance, surrounded by parks and cultural institutions including the Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park and an increasingly active downtown scene of locally owned restaurants and shops.

The school enrolls a student body that is predominantly Black, with a substantial share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The school is small to mid-sized for its grade band. According to the most recent state assessment data, proficiency rates show a mixed picture across subjects and grades. In mathematics, students in third grade performed at a higher level than fourth grade, which then improved again in fifth grade. English language arts proficiency was lower than mathematics, with fourth grade showing notably weaker performance. Science proficiency in fifth grade, the only grade tested in that subject, was the strongest area of performance across the school. A parent may want to look into how the school addresses the variation across grade levels, particularly the dip in fourth-grade English language arts, and what interventions support early elementary numeracy development.

Bibb County's district strategic plan emphasizes structured literacy and science of reading instruction at the elementary level, with all language arts teachers trained in these approaches and the district using AMIRA Tutor, an AI literacy assessment tool, alongside STAR benchmarks. This focus represents a pedagogy shift meant to strengthen foundational reading and numeracy skills across the elementary grades.

The district faces meaningful structural pressures. In February 2025, the school board opted out of a statewide homestead exemption cap, a decision that preserves the district's ability to set property tax rates beyond inflation but also signals fiscal pressure. Following that decision, the board approved effective property tax increases in September 2024 and July 2025. In April 2025, the district chose not to close schools but instead moved toward a rezoning process, with preliminary attendance zone options presented in April 2026 and potential changes to take effect for the 2026-2027 school year. Families considering Alexander II should be aware that their assigned attendance zone may shift as that process concludes.

On the capital side, voters approved a special purpose sales tax renewal in November 2025 that will fund school safety, technology, HVAC replacement districtwide, new buses, and renovations at multiple schools including Alexander II. This investment will improve facility quality over the next several years without raising property taxes on homeowners.

Housing in Macon's downtown zip code remains modestly valued and affordable relative to state and national benchmarks, with rent-to-income ratios well below national norms. Downtown has experienced a visible residential boom, with new market-rate lofts and mixed-use development reshaping the urban landscape. For families drawn to walkable, downtown-adjacent living with cultural amenities, Macon offers an increasingly active civic and commercial environment. For those preferring more established suburban neighborhoods, the surrounding residential districts remain car-oriented with longer distances to most errands.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 367%

School 67% · District 27% · ▲ 40 pts above district

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 39 pts above county median

Grade 448%

School 48% · District 28% · ▲ 20 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

Grade 556%

School 56% · District 23% · ▲ 33 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 33 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 355%

School 55% · District 22% · ▲ 32 pts above district

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 36 pts above county median

Grade 442%

School 42% · District 22% · ▲ 20 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

Grade 556%

School 56% · District 25% · ▲ 30 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 31 pts above county median

Science

Grade 567%

School 67% · District 32% · ▲ 35 pts above district

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 35 pts above county median

Social studies

Grades 3-894%

School 94% · district not reported

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

This schoolBibb 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.