Martha Rawls Smith Elementary School

Martha Rawls Smith Elementary School is an average-sized elementary school in Jesup, Georgia, part of Wayne County. The school works with 543 students in grades pre-K through 5.

Wayne County comprises 8 schools with combined enrollment of 5,348 students; Martha Rawls Smith Elementary School is among them.

On the student-mix side, Martha Rawls Smith Elementary School logs that the most-represented group is Black (37%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. Beyond that, the school reports 36% White, 19% Hispanic, 7% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 20% Black, putting the school's mix considerably more Black than the area baseline.

In terms of school funding signals, On paper, Martha Rawls Smith Elementary School has 45 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 12.1:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.3:1, putting Martha Rawls Smith Elementary School tighter than the state norm the norm. An estimated 100% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. That share is north of Wayne County's rate of about 91%.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Martha Rawls Smith Elementary School sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 25.7%; this one delivers 29.4%.

Across the wider county, Wayne County reports that median household income runs about $53,427, roughly 16% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 18%. Across Wayne County's 8 public schools (combined enrollment of about 5,348 students), Martha Rawls Smith Elementary School is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Bacon Elementary School, roughly 1.8 miles away. Within five miles, there are 5 other public schools. On composite proficiency, Martha Rawls Smith Elementary School comes 7th of 7 in the immediate cluster, behind the nearby-schools average of 38.1%.

The school occupies a low-density site.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count declined 4%: 567 students in 2018 compared to 543 in 2025. The White share of enrollment declined from 47% to 36% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio pulled in from 13.1:1 in 2018 to 12.1:1 today.

On this page, posts here usually surface around classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. The community welcomes input from current and former families.