Chesnut Elementary School

As a middle-of-the-pack elementary campus in Dunwoody, Georgia, Chesnut Elementary School enrolls 551 students from grades pre-K through 5, operated by DeKalb County.

DeKalb County runs 131 schools in total, collectively educating 92,088 students. Chesnut Elementary School is one of those campuses.

Demographically, Chesnut Elementary School lists that 32% of students identify as Black, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. Beyond that, the school shows 30% Hispanic, 24% White, 7% Asian, 6% multiracial. By comparison, DeKalb County as a whole is about 51% Black, so the school skews noticeably less Black than its surroundings.

Looking at school resources, On paper, Chesnut Elementary School has 43 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 12.8:1. The state averages about 13.3:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Roughly 52% of students at Chesnut Elementary School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. By comparison, DeKalb County runs at roughly 77%, so the school's eligibility rate is somewhat below the surrounding baseline.

After controlling for student poverty, Chesnut Elementary School sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 50.6%; this one delivers 53.1%.

Around the school, ACS estimates for DeKalb County put median household earnings sit near $80,644, roughly 47% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 10%. Across DeKalb County's 154 public schools (combined enrollment of about 102,960 students), Chesnut Elementary School is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Peachtree Middle School, roughly 0.2 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Chesnut Elementary School. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Chesnut Elementary School at 3rd of 9; the average score across the group is 42.8%.

The campus sits in a downtown setting.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count grew 22%: 453 students in 2018 compared to 551 in 2025. Over the same period, the Hispanic share ticked up from 25% to 30%.

On this page, members of the Chesnut Elementary School community share and discuss open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.