The top reported proficiency rate is 68% in Social studies. The lowest is 29% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Bacon Elementary School
Bacon Elementary School serves pre-K through fifth grade in Jesup, a county seat in south Georgia with a working-class economy built around rail, forest-products manufacturing, and federal employment. The school draws a heavily economically disadvantaged population: nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is majority white, with substantial Black and Hispanic populations and a small multiracial enrollment; the school reported no Asian or Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander students.
The school's state test results show low proficiency across subjects. In mathematics, proficiency ranged from the lower end in third and fifth grades to just under half of students meeting standard in fourth grade. English language arts proficiency ran between the upper twenties and low thirties across tested grades. Fifth-grade science proficiency stood in the mid-to-upper thirties. Data from an earlier state assessment in social studies, when available, showed higher proficiency, though that assessment and its benchmarks have since changed. The pattern across current testing shows a school where the majority of students are not meeting grade-level standards in core academic areas.
Bacon Elementary is part of Wayne County Schools. The district recently passed a local sales tax renewal for school facilities, funding new agriculture and JROTC facilities at the high school and a new track. The county is also committed to ongoing industrial recruitment and development through capital investment, including a new wastewater plant. These investments suggest a district working to retain families and build infrastructure, though they do not directly target elementary academic improvement.
The Jesup area is genuinely small and economically mixed. Housing values are below the state average and remain affordable by national standards. Major employers include a cellulose mill, the hospital, the school system itself, and a federal prison, making the local economy dependent on manufacturing, healthcare, and public service. New residential development occurs mainly in subdivisions at the town's edges rather than in-town, and growth overall is modest. The historic downtown has walkable blocks and shops but sits amid active freight rail lines and highway traffic. The community anchors civic life around the restored Amtrak depot, the library, and the high school sports complex.
For a family considering this school, the key reality is that most students here are not meeting grade-level proficiency on standardized assessments across the tested subjects. This is a school where academic support and intervention are likely necessary parts of elementary experience. The school's enrollment is stable and typical for its grade band, and the setting is that of a genuine small town with a mix of industries and modest new growth. A parent may want to discuss with the school what targeted support programs exist for students not yet proficient and what partnerships or instructional changes are underway to improve outcomes.
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