East Columbus Magnet Academy

East Columbus Magnet Academy is one of the modestly sized middle-grades schools in Columbus, Georgia, overseen by Muscogee County, with 395 students on its rolls from grades 6 through 8. Compared to the state average of about 763 students per school, that is 48% leaner than typical.

Across the 54 schools in Muscogee County (30,091 students total), East Columbus Magnet Academy accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Looking at the student body, East Columbus Magnet Academy lists that 90% of students identify as Black, making the school strongly Black-majority. Beyond that, the school shows 5% Hispanic, 4% multiracial. By comparison, Muscogee County as a whole is about 47% Black, so the school skews visibly more Black than its surroundings.

In terms of school funding signals, On paper, East Columbus Magnet Academy has 31 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 12.6:1. The state averages around 14.1:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Roughly 97% of students at East Columbus Magnet Academy qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. Set against Muscogee County (around 86%), the school's rate is north of typical.

After controlling for student poverty, East Columbus Magnet Academy performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 27.0%, the actual is 15.9%, a residual of -11.1 points.

In the broader community, the surrounding county (Muscogee County) reports that the typical household earns roughly $58,073 per year, about 31% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and roughly 15% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Muscogee County runs 57 public schools (combined enrollment of about 30,110 students), of which East Columbus Magnet Academy is one.

The closest other public school is Georgetown Elementary School, roughly 0.2 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around East Columbus Magnet Academy. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts East Columbus Magnet Academy at 4th of 8; the average score across the group is 14.8%.

The campus sits in an inner-city setting.

Looking at the recent track record. East Columbus Magnet Academy's enrollment has fell 28% since 2018, when it stood at 546 (now 395). The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 16.6:1 in 2018 to 12.6:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, the feed for East Columbus Magnet Academy typically covers sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.