DeKalb Preparatory Academy Charter

DeKalb Preparatory Academy Charter, a mid-sized elementary-level community in Decatur, Georgia, part of DeKalb County, educates 537 students, covering grades K through 8.

Within DeKalb County, which oversees 131 schools and 92,088 students, DeKalb Preparatory Academy Charter is one campus in the system.

Looking at the student body, DeKalb Preparatory Academy Charter shows that 95% of students identify as Black, making the school strongly Black-majority. Other groups include 3% Hispanic, 2% multiracial. By comparison, DeKalb County as a whole is about 51% Black, so the school skews visibly more Black than its surroundings.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 37 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 14.5:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 13.3:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. Roughly 100% of students at DeKalb Preparatory Academy Charter qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. By comparison, DeKalb County runs at roughly 77%, so the school's eligibility rate is somewhat above the surrounding baseline.

After controlling for student poverty, DeKalb Preparatory Academy Charter tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 25.7% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 18.7%.

Across the wider county, DeKalb County reports that the typical household earns roughly $80,644 per year, roughly 47% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 10% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across DeKalb County's 154 public schools (combined enrollment of about 102,960 students), DeKalb Preparatory Academy Charter is one campus in the mix.

Towers High School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.4 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around DeKalb Preparatory Academy Charter. On composite proficiency, DeKalb Preparatory Academy Charter comes 5th of 9 in the immediate cluster, behind the nearby-schools average of 27.2%.

The campus sits in a suburban setting. DeKalb Preparatory Academy Charter is a charter school, which puts it inside the public-school system but outside the standard district-managed model.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count increased 4%: 517 students in 2018 compared to 537 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio rose from 12.8:1 in 2018 to 14.5:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, posts here usually surface around school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.