Robert J. Burch Elementary School, Tyrone GA

Original Research by School Decision on Robert J. Burch Elementary School

Robert J. Burch Elementary School serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in Tyrone, a small residential town in Fayette County's south Atlanta suburbs. The school draws roughly half of its students from families qualifying for free or reduced-price meals, with a student body that is majority Black and includes a substantial Hispanic population, along with smaller numbers of white students and students of multiracial identity. The enrollment spans the full early-grades range, with fifth grade as the highest served.

State testing data from the 2024-25 school year shows proficiency rates clustering around the halfway mark across tested grades and subjects. In mathematics, third-grade students showed proficiency somewhat above that midline, while fourth and fifth grade trended slightly below. English language arts proficiency was similar across grades three and four, with fifth grade performing somewhat higher. Science proficiency in fifth grade landed near the overall math-and-ELA average. Across all tested subjects and grades, the school's average proficiency sits above the midpoint among Fayette County's districts, a positioning that reflects moderate academic standing within its immediate peer set.

The school occupies one point in a three-school campus configuration on Jenkins Road. Tyrone itself is a deliberately growth-managed community of single-family homes spread across large lots, where golf carts move residents between neighborhoods and a modest downtown core centered on Senoia Road. That downtown concentrates civic life, small businesses, parks, and the public library, but the school campus sits separate from it. Most families in the area commute outside Tyrone for work, and the town has resisted large apartment complexes and major distribution centers in favor of preserving its small-town character. Housing values in the Tyrone zip code are mid-range for the suburban Atlanta market, and the community is adding new construction at relatively high price points as well as the Ardmore subdivision, a traditional-neighborhood-style development intended to connect with downtown.

The district serving Burch Elementary is under structural revenue pressure. A voter-approved homestead exemption caps annual growth in assessed school taxes at the lower of inflation or a small fixed percentage, which shields established homeowners but constrains the district's operating revenue. In response, the district has cut more than seventy positions and adopted a higher millage rate, signaling tighter staffing going forward. At the same time, Fayette County is on its fourth voter-approved education sales tax (ESPLOST) dedicated to facility improvements, so families moving in today can expect ongoing investment in school buildings, technology, and equipment funded largely through sales tax rather than additional property-tax burden. The district has completed major capital projects including a new middle school and auxiliary facilities under recent ESPLOST cycles.

Parents looking at Burch should understand it as a school serving a diverse, economically mixed neighborhood within a town that values its small-scale residential character and is investing in local infrastructure. Academic proficiency sits at a middle register within the county, neither standout nor struggling. The early-grades setting offers a stable, familiar peer environment. A parent may want to look into staffing levels and program continuity at the school directly, given the district's recent budget reductions.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 354%

School 54% · District 66% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 448%

School 48% · District 71% · ▼ 23 pts below district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

Grade 550%

School 50% · District 66% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 350%

School 50% · District 58% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 452%

School 52% · District 62% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 555%

School 55% · District 64% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Science

Grade 554%

School 54% · District 67% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Social studies

Grades 3-885%

School 85% · district not reported

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

This schoolFayette 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-income73%40 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income27%Higher-income60%33 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income60%Higher-income77%17 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income41%Higher-income70%28 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income33%Higher-income73%40 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income32%Higher-income69%37 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income50%Higher-income72%22 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income39%Higher-income71%32 pp gap