Columbia Elementary School

Columbia Elementary School, a low-enrollment K-5 school in Decatur, Georgia, one of the schools within DeKalb County, hosts 364 students, covering grades pre-K through 5. That puts it 40% below the typical public school in Georgia, which averages around 605 students.

Columbia Elementary School is one of 131 schools operated by DeKalb County, a district that educates 92,088 students overall.

On demographics, Columbia Elementary School records that 89% of students identify as Black, making the school strongly Black-majority. Other groups include 4% Hispanic, 4% multiracial. That is meaningfully more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 51%.

Looking at the economic backdrop, On paper, Columbia Elementary School has 35 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 10.4:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.3:1, putting Columbia Elementary School tighter than the state norm the norm. An estimated 100% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. That share is north of DeKalb County's rate of about 77%.

After controlling for student poverty, Columbia Elementary School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 25.7% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 16.2%.

Around the school, ACS estimates for DeKalb County put median household income runs about $80,644, roughly 47% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 10%. In all, DeKalb County runs 154 public schools (combined enrollment of about 102,960 students), of which Columbia Elementary School is one.

The closest other public school is Columbia High School, roughly 0.7 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. On composite proficiency, Columbia Elementary School comes 4th of 8 in the immediate cluster, beneath the nearby-schools average of 27.2%.

Geographically, the school is in an outer-ring area.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count contracted 35%: 562 students in 2018 compared to 364 in 2025. Black enrollment moved from 95% to 89% across the same window. Class-load math has fell: from 13.6:1 in 2018 to 10.4:1 in 2025.

On this page, members of the Columbia Elementary School community share and discuss pickup logistics, teacher feedback, and after-school programs. The community welcomes input from current and former families.