Center Elementary School

Located at 2114 Dorothy St, in Waycross, Georgia, Center Elementary School is a cozy primary school that hosts 470 students (grades K through 5), part of Ware County. By comparison, Georgia's public schools average about 605 students each, so Center Elementary School sits 22% smaller than that benchmark.

Across the 9 schools in Ware County (5,920 students total), Center Elementary School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Looking at the student body, Center Elementary School reports that the largest single group is Black, at 57% of enrollment. The remainder reads as 23% White, 10% Hispanic, 8% multiracial. That is noticeably more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 30%.

On the resource side, The school currently runs with 35 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 13.4:1. That tracks the state average closely. About 96% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. That share is north of Ware County's rate of about 87%.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Center Elementary School sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 27.9%; this one delivers 36.4%.

Zooming out to the county, ACS estimates for Ware County put median household earnings sit near $47,448, 14% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 17%. Across Ware County's 10 public schools (combined enrollment of about 5,927 students), Center Elementary School is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Wacona Elementary School, roughly 1.5 miles away. 7 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Center Elementary School at 7th of 8; the average score across the group is 46.2%.

The school occupies a small-town site.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Center Elementary School has shrank 15%, going from 555 students in 2018 to 470 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share fell from 32% to 23%. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 15.9:1 in 2018 to 13.4:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, posts here usually surface around open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.