Charles R. Drew Charter School

Charles R. Drew Charter School is an expansive elementary school in Atlanta, Georgia, part of Atlanta Public Schools. The school caters to 961 students in grades pre-K through 5. By comparison, Georgia's public schools average about 605 students each, so Charles R. Drew Charter School sits 59% above that benchmark.

Atlanta Public Schools comprises 87 schools with combined enrollment of 49,945 students; Charles R. Drew Charter School is among them.

In terms of who attends, Charles R. Drew Charter School shows that Black students make up the majority at 56%. Other groups include 32% White, 6% multiracial, 5% Hispanic.

In terms of school funding signals, Staff filings list 89 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 10.8:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 13.3:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Around 38% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. Set against DeKalb County (around 77%), the school's rate is somewhat below typical.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Charles R. Drew Charter School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 57.7%, the actual is 69.2%, a residual of +11.5 points.

In the area at large, DeKalb County reports that median household income runs about $80,644, 47% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 10%. In all, DeKalb County runs 154 public schools (combined enrollment of about 102,960 students), of which Charles R. Drew Charter School is one.

The closest other public school is Charles Drew Charter JA/SR Academy, roughly 0.2 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Charles R. Drew Charter School at 3rd of 7; the average score across the group is 52.3%.

Charles R. Drew Charter School operates from a downtown location. Charles R. Drew Charter School operates as a public charter school, meaning it is publicly funded but governed independently of the surrounding district's traditional schools.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Charles R. Drew Charter School has fell 3%, going from 991 students in 2018 to 961 in 2025. The Black share of enrollment ticked down from 68% to 56% over that span. Class-load math has narrowed: from 12.9:1 in 2018 to 10.8:1 in 2025.

On this page, recent activity here tends to focus on enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. Members of the school community can share what they know.