Dekalb Path Academy Charter School, Brookhaven GA

Original Research by School Decision on Dekalb Path Academy Charter School

DeKalb PATH Academy is a charter school serving grades five through eight in Brookhaven, a rapidly growing mixed-use suburb northeast of Atlanta anchored by new healthcare and medical research campuses. The school enrolled a small cohort—distributed evenly across the middle grades—with a dramatically skewed demographic profile: a large majority of students are Hispanic, a substantial share are Asian, and very few are white or Black. Nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating concentrated economic need.

The school's academic results are a significant concern. State end-of-grade testing from the most recent year shows proficiency rates well below what families typically expect at any school type. In mathematics, proficiency ranges from very low in grade five to roughly half in grade eight, with an overall average across all tested grades in the low-to-mid range. English language arts performance is similarly weak across the school, hovering in the low-to-mid range overall with slight grade-to-grade variation. Science proficiency is markedly low at both tested grades. Social studies proficiency is among the lowest on the campus. Only one year of state testing data was available, so trend comparisons cannot be made. When positioned against other districts in DeKalb County on an overall proficiency index, the school sits above the county's median but still well below the stronger performers in the county cluster.

The charter status gives this school independent governance and operational structure within DeKalb County. A parent may want to look into whether the school has a specific instructional model, enrichment focus, or support strategy that addresses the evident proficiency gap—for instance, targeted intervention in mathematics or explicit English-learner support—and how recent results have shaped the school's planning. The school's role within the broader DeKalb ecosystem also matters: the district is undertaking a significant Student Assignment Project that could close or consolidate dozens of schools over the coming years, which could affect neighborhood school availability and boundary assignments.

Brookhaven itself is in transition. The opening of a large pediatric hospital and adjacent medical research campus in late 2024 has catalyzed rapid residential and commercial development. Housing values in the zip code are moderate relative to national benchmarks but climbing. The city blends affluent country-club neighborhoods with newer mixed-income infill, rental apartments, and a strong immigrant-business corridor along Buford Highway. Transit via MARTA is available, and parks and greenway trails anchor civic life. Schools serving Brookhaven are operated by DeKalb County on neighborhood campuses scattered through residential areas rather than clustered in a traditional downtown setting. For families considering PATH Academy, the broader question is whether the school's current academic performance aligns with their expectations, what support structures are in place, and how the district's ongoing redistricting plans might affect school stability and choice over the medium term.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 58%

School 8% · District 32% · ▼ 23 pts below district

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

Grade 618%

School 18% · District 23% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

Grade 720%

School 20% · District 26% · ▼ 6 pts below district

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

Grade 849%

School 49% · District 34% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 523%

School 23% · District 35% · ▼ 12 pts below district

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

Grade 642%

School 42% · District 31% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 738%

School 38% · District 30% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 833%

School 33% · District 32%

▼ 2 pts below state median · even with county median

Science

Grade 512%

School 12% · District 33% · ▼ 21 pts below district

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

Grade 89%

School 9% · District 25% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 811%

School 11% · District 23% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

This schoolDeKalb 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.