Sterling Elementary School, Brunswick GA

Original Research by School Decision on Sterling Elementary School

Sterling Elementary School is a school of roughly average size for its grade band, serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in Brunswick, a historic coastal port city that is experiencing downtown revitalization and active residential growth in outlying areas. The school enrolls a diverse student population, with substantial shares of white, Black, and Hispanic students, and a very high share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic profile of the neighborhoods it serves.

Academic performance at Sterling sits below the midpoint. In mathematics, students across grades three through five show proficiency rates in the low to mid-range, with fifth grade performing slightly lower than the earlier grades. English language arts proficiency is considerably lower across the same grades, with third grade notably below fourth and fifth. Science proficiency, measured only in fifth grade, falls between the ELA and math results. These patterns suggest that reading and writing are areas where the school may want to concentrate additional support and instructional focus. The data reflects only the current school year, so trend information is not yet available to show whether performance is moving in a particular direction.

Sterling's household composition includes a very high concentration of economically disadvantaged families. Nearly four-fifths of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a figure that shapes both the school's resource allocations and the kinds of family support the school likely coordinates with community agencies. Special education enrollment data and English learner counts were not available, so a complete picture of the school's support services cannot be drawn from the data provided.

Brunswick itself offers a walkable, historically rooted downtown with restoration underway in the Old Town district, anchored by squares, waterfront parks, and locally owned shops and restaurants. Beyond the historic core, the city is more car-oriented. Surrounding Glynn County is seeing rapid new residential construction, with several subdivisions and mixed-use developments in planning or early stages. Housing values in the school's zip code sit near the state benchmark, and affordability measures reflect moderate housing costs relative to local incomes, though mortgage rates and rent have both risen in recent months. The area's economy rests on healthcare, federal training facilities, the container port and auto export operations, manufacturing, and tourism.

At the district level, Glynn County Schools passed a local education sales tax continuation (ESPLOST V) in November 2024, dedicating revenue to facility improvements, technology, buses, and debt service over the coming years, which supports the physical condition and modernization of school buildings. Beginning the 2025-26 school year, the district implemented a bell-to-bell ban on personal electronic devices for all K-12 students, a change that extends beyond the state law requirement for K-8 and affects how families communicate with children during the school day. A parent evaluating Sterling should inquire with the school directly about instructional strategies in ELA, whether additional reading support is available to struggling readers, and what role the school's high-poverty population plays in shaping the school's approach to instruction and family engagement.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 344%

School 44% · District 46% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 442%

School 42% · District 50% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

Grade 540%

School 40% · District 45% · ▼ 6 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 325%

School 25% · District 34% · ▼ 9 pts below district

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

Grade 431%

School 31% · District 40% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 529%

School 29% · District 42% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Science

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 45% · ▼ 13 pts below district

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

Social studies

Grades 3-877%

School 77% · district not reported

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

This schoolGlynn 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-income24%Higher-income38%14 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income16%Higher-income32%17 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income52%Higher-income59%8 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income31%Higher-income44%13 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income42%Higher-income94%52 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income40%Higher-income84%44 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income40%Higher-income59%20 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income41%Higher-income77%36 pp gap