Martha Ellen Stilwell School for the Performing Arts

Martha Ellen Stilwell School for the Performing Arts is a high school of compact scale in Jonesboro, Georgia, run under Clayton County, educateing 494 students in grades 9 through 12. Compared to the state average of about 1,120 students per school, that is 56% below typical.

Within Clayton County, which oversees 68 schools and 51,326 students, Martha Ellen Stilwell School for the Performing Arts is one campus in the system.

On the student-mix side, Martha Ellen Stilwell School for the Performing Arts reports that Black students make up the majority at 78%. The remainder is composed of 14% Hispanic, 3% Asian, 2% multiracial. By comparison, Clayton County as a whole is about 69% Black, so the school skews visibly more Black than its surroundings.

Looking at school resources, Martha Ellen Stilwell School for the Performing Arts lists 35 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 14.1:1. The state averages around 15.2:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Roughly 100% of students at Martha Ellen Stilwell School for the Performing Arts qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

With demographic context factored in, Martha Ellen Stilwell School for the Performing Arts is in the OUTPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations model, which fits a per-state line through proficiency and FRL share. Schools with this campus's poverty mix typically land near 25.7%; this one delivers 64.4%, a residual of +38.7 points.

Across the wider county, community-level numbers for Clayton County indicate median household income runs about $59,806, about 23% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and roughly 15% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Clayton County's 73 public schools (combined enrollment of about 63,156 students), Martha Ellen Stilwell School for the Performing Arts is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Mount Zion High School, roughly 0.3 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Martha Ellen Stilwell School for the Performing Arts. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Martha Ellen Stilwell School for the Performing Arts at 2nd of 8; the average score across the group is 32.9%.

The school occupies a bedroom-community site.

Looking at the recent track record. Martha Ellen Stilwell School for the Performing Arts's enrollment has declined 21% since 2018, when it stood at 626 (now 494). Over the same period, the Hispanic share grew from 10% to 14%. The student-to-teacher ratio tightened from 16.5:1 in 2018 to 14.1:1 today.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.