Matilda Harris Elementary School, Kingsland GA

Original Research by School Decision on Matilda Harris Elementary School

Matilda Harris Elementary is a public school serving prekindergarten through fifth grade in Kingsland, Georgia, a coastal city in Camden County about 45 minutes south of Jacksonville. The school enrolls a small-to-moderate student body across seven grades, with a notably diverse composition: roughly half the enrollment is white, while Black, multiracial, and Hispanic students each make up a meaningful share. About half of all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, marking the school as serving a moderate-need population within its area.

The school's academic performance shows strength in science and math but weaker proficiency in English language arts. In science, where only the fifth grade is tested, the school reaches solid proficiency. In math across grades three through five, performance ranges from the mid-to-high range in fourth grade down to below-average in fifth grade, suggesting the mathematics pathway weakens as students advance into upper elementary. English language arts is the softest subject: proficiency hovers around the low-to-mid range across all tested grades, staying below the math line and well below science. The pattern suggests that while students can engage with quantitative and scientific reasoning, they are struggling more with literacy skills, a gap a parent may want to look into further with the school.

Data on trend over multiple years was not available; the proficiency numbers shown reflect the most recent testing cycle only. This means you cannot yet see whether these results represent stable performance or movement in either direction.

Kingsland itself is experiencing visible growth. New residential subdivisions have been built near the school, and the city continues to expand along the Interstate 95 corridor while preserving its historic downtown Royal District. Housing prices in the zip code are moderate relative to national and state benchmarks, and rents have ticked upward in recent months. The economy is anchored by Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, which draws defense contracting and federal employment, alongside local government, healthcare, and retail along the highway. A family moving to the area will find a sprawling, car-dependent landscape outside the small historic core, with most daily errands and dining options clustered along commercial strips rather than within walking distance.

The Camden County Schools district renewed voter approval for a sales-tax-funded capital program in 2022, which will support school buildings, buses, technology, and textbooks over the next several years without raising property taxes. The district also recently switched its student information system from PowerSchool to Infinite Campus, a change that requires parents of returning students to set up new online accounts to access grades, attendance, and schedules.

Matilda Harris Elementary is the only public elementary school in Camden County for which comparison data was available, so relative standing within the district cannot be precisely stated. The school's proficiency data sits in the publicly available records; parent visits and conversations with school staff about literacy supports, class composition, and the path to middle school would round out a fuller picture.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 364%

School 64% · District 61% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 24 pts above state median

Grade 474%

School 74% · District 71% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 29 pts above state median

Grade 558%

School 58% · District 60% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 20 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 346%

School 46% · District 47%

▲ 16 pts above state median

Grade 453%

School 53% · District 59% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▲ 18 pts above state median

Grade 555%

School 55% · District 63% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▲ 16 pts above state median

Science

Grade 577%

School 77% · District 67% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 37 pts above state median

Social studies

Grades 3-897%

School 97% · district not reported

▲ 13 pts above state median

This schoolCamden 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-income41%Higher-income73%32 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income27%Higher-income61%34 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income54%Higher-income73%19 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income40%Higher-income70%29 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income57%Higher-income87%30 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income52%Higher-income85%33 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income46%Higher-income67%21 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income53%Higher-income79%26 pp gap