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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at George W. Whitlow Elementary?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,247
Elementary
DISTRICT 1,008 · STATE 605
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·FORSYTH COUNTY·NCES 130222003853
George W. Whitlow Elementary
3655 Castleberry Rd, Cumming, GA 30040 · (678) 965-5090 · Forsyth County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL1,247 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
13.1:1
95 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.6:1 · STATE 13.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
33%
407 students
DISTRICT 22% · STATE 74%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 35 | 3% |
| Kindergarten | 187 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 186 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 224 | 18% |
| Grade 3 | 221 | 18% |
| Grade 4 | 199 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 195 | 16% |
Student demographics
71%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 68% · STATE 71% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
Georgia Milestones 2024-25 . % Proficient or DistinguishedEnglish Language Arts
57.8%
GA avg 40.1% . -8.6pp since 2021
Math
70.8%
GA avg 44.6% . -1.7pp since 2021
What this means: On the Georgia Milestones, Georgia's statewide test, about 58 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 71 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Georgia schools, those numbers are about 40 and 45. Reading and writing scores are down about 9 points since 2021, while math scores are down about 2 points.
Georgia Milestones results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 57.8% | 70.8% |
| 2023-24 | 61.8% | 73.0% |
| 2022-23 | 56.0% | 65.2% |
| 2021-22 | 66.3% | 72.5% |
% Proficient or Distinguished, all students and all tested grades.
Source: Georgia Milestones. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
66.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
60.5%
based on GA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+5.8pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 66% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 60% typical for Georgia schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Georgia's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Where George W. Whitlow Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Georgia | In Forsyth County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 66.3% | #130 of 1,208 | #12 of 23 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 70.8% | #122 of 1,215 | #15 of 23 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 57.8% | #159 of 1,215 | #14 of 23 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -5.1pp | #131 of 1,183 | #2 of 22 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,247 | #23 of 1,324 | #3 of 23 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.1:1 | #578 of 1,301 | #4 of 23 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 70.5% | #106 of 1,301 | #2 of 23 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +1.1% | #354 of 386 | #7 of 7 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list.
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
1,247
+14 (+1%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
13.1:1
was 14.8:1
% White
29%
was 47%
% Hispanic
21%
was 26%
% Black
6%
was 7%
% Asian
40%
was 17%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free or reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 1,247 | 94.9 | 13.1:1 | 33% (407) |
| 2023-24 | 1,237 | 93.8 | 13.2:1 | 30% (373) |
| 2022-23 | 1,181 | 88.9 | 13.3:1 | 22% (258) |
| 2017-18 | 1,233 | 83.4 | 14.8:1 | 31% (382) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for George W. Whitlow Elementary.
About George W. Whitlow Elementary
George W. Whitlow Elementary is a high-enrollment elementary school in Cumming, Georgia, one of the schools in Forsyth County. Federal data show 1,247 students enrolled in pre-K through 5 in 2024-25. Elementary schools in Georgia average about 605 students, which makes this school 106% larger than average.
The district for George W. Whitlow Elementary is Forsyth County, with 42 schools and 54,864 students.
The student body at George W. Whitlow Elementary has no majority group. Asian students lead at 40%. The next largest groups are 29% White, 21% Hispanic, 6% Black, and 3% multiracial. The school's Asian share is 20 points above the 20% share among Forsyth County residents. A diversity index of 71% means there is a 71% chance two randomly chosen students at George W. Whitlow Elementary are from different groups.
For every teacher at George W. Whitlow Elementary, there are about 13.1 students; the school has 94.9 full-time-equivalent teachers. The ratio is within a point of the 13.3:1 average for elementary schools in Georgia. There are 407 students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, 33% of enrollment. By comparison, the figure for public schools in Forsyth County is 21%.
After adjusting for student poverty, George W. Whitlow Elementary lands between the top and bottom 10% of Georgia schools. Its average proficiency rate across its state test results is 66.3%; the prediction is 60.5%.
American Community Survey estimates for Forsyth County show that the median household earns about $143,784 a year, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 57%, and about 3% of people live in poverty. Forsyth County has 42 public schools with about 54,864 students, including George W. Whitlow Elementary.
About 1.1 miles separate George W. Whitlow Elementary from the closest public school, New Hope Elementary School. Other public schools within five miles: at least 8. Ranked by average proficiency, George W. Whitlow Elementary places 5th out of 9 schools in its immediate area.
On the NCES locale scale, the school is Suburb: Large.
Enrollment at George W. Whitlow Elementary was 1,233 in 2017-18 and 1,247 in 2024-25, a change of less than 3%. The share of Asian students grew 23 points, from 17% to 40%. Students per teacher dropped from 14.8 in 2017-18 to 13.1 in 2024-25.
On allk12, people connected to George W. Whitlow Elementary can post about pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Forsyth County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
267,287
Census ACS
Median income
$143,784
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
57%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
3%
Below federal line
Schools in county
42
54,864 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Forsyth County
- Lambert High SchoolHigh · 3,249 students
- South Forsyth High SchoolHigh · 2,634 students
- Denmark High SchoolHigh · 2,527 students
- West Forsyth High SchoolHigh · 2,503 students
- Forsyth Central High SchoolHigh · 2,457 students
- North Forsyth High SchoolHigh · 2,151 students
Other schools in Cumming
- South Forsyth High SchoolHigh · 2,634 students
- West Forsyth High SchoolHigh · 2,503 students
- Forsyth Central High SchoolHigh · 2,457 students
- North Forsyth High SchoolHigh · 2,151 students
- Sawnee Elementary SchoolElementary · 1,591 students
- Lakeside Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,513 students
Nearby schools
- New Hope Elementary School1.1 mi · 1,175
- Kelly Mill Elementary1.5 mi · 1,104
- Forsyth Central High School2.4 mi · 2,457
- Otwell Middle School2.6 mi · 1,062
- South Forsyth High School2.7 mi · 2,634
- Cumming Elementary School2.8 mi · 900
Frequently asked questions
About George W. Whitlow ElementaryHow many students attend George W. Whitlow Elementary?
George W. Whitlow Elementary enrolls approximately 1,247 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does George W. Whitlow Elementary serve?
George W. Whitlow Elementary serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at George W. Whitlow Elementary?
Approximately 13.1:1 students per teacher at George W. Whitlow Elementary.
How diverse is George W. Whitlow Elementary?
George W. Whitlow Elementary reports a student body of 29% White, 21% Hispanic, 6% Black, 40% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Who oversees George W. Whitlow Elementary?
George W. Whitlow Elementary is overseen by Forsyth County in Forsyth County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.