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If you had an hour of school board time for Smiley Elementary School, what would you bring up?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
765
Elementary
DISTRICT 788 · STATE 605
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LONG COUNTY·NCES 130336002409
Smiley Elementary School
1530 Ga Highway 57, Ludowici, GA 31316 · (912) 545-2147 · Long County
GRADES 02–03ELEMENTARY42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL765 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 46% of Georgia public elementary schools
- B-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Georgia public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
15.9:1
48 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 17.4:1 · STATE 13.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
77%
591 students
DISTRICT 77% · STATE 74%
Community
6
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 2 | 385 | 50% |
| Grade 3 | 380 | 50% |
Student demographics
70%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 70% · 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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Smiley Elementary School→McClelland Elementary School→Long County Middle School→Long County High School
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Long County. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
Georgia Milestones 2024-25 . % Proficient or DistinguishedEnglish Language Arts
28.2%
GA avg 40.1%
Math
45.4%
GA avg 44.6%
What this means: On the Georgia Milestones, Georgia's statewide test, about 28 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 45 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Georgia schools, those numbers are about 40 and 45.
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
36.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
37.4%
based on GA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-0.6pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 37% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 37% 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 →
Schools most like Smiley Elementary School
Smiley Elementary School's state test result (36.8% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smiley Elementary School this school | 765 | 77.3% | 36.8% |
| McClelland Elementary School Ludowici | 694 | 80.3% | 29.8% |
| Long County Primary School Ludowici | 905 | 78.3% | N/A |
| Pine Grove Elementary School Valdosta | 756 | 77.6% | 56.5% |
| Allgood Elementary School Dallas | 811 | 72.3% | 26.9% |
| Dewar Elementary Valdosta | 821 | 75.8% | 51.0% |
Matched among Georgia elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Smiley Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Georgia |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 36.8% | #616 of 1,208 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 45.4% | #506 of 1,215 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 28.2% | #787 of 1,215 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 765 | #278 of 1,324 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.9:1 | #1,216 of 1,301 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 70.1% | #114 of 1,301 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 77.3% | #758 of 1,312 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -34.6% | #55 of 854 |
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. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
765
-232 (-23%) vs 2020
+14% since 2000-01, when it was 670
Student : Teacher
15.9:1
was 15.6:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 765 | 48.1 | 15.9:1 | 77% (591) |
| 2023-24 | 1,286 | 65.5 | 19.6:1 | 74% (946) |
| 2022-23 | 1,258 | 64 | 19.7:1 | 67% (843) |
| 2020-21 | 997 | 64 | 15.6:1 | 62% (615) |
| 2017-18 | 1,170 | 73.5 | 15.9:1 | 74% (861) |
| 2015-16 | 1,150 | 72 | 16.0:1 | 77% (884) |
| 2010-11 | 970 | 67 | 14.5:1 | 71% (688) |
| 2000-01 | 670 | 31 | 21.6:1 | 73% (489) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Smiley Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 35% (1,170 to 765); teachers down 35% (73.5 to 48.1).
About Smiley Elementary School
Smiley Elementary School is a medium-sized elementary school in Ludowici, Georgia, one of the schools in Long County. It serves 765 students in grades 2 through 3. For comparison, elementary schools in Georgia average about 605 students.
District-wide, Long County has 5 schools and 4,724 students.
White students are the largest group at Smiley Elementary School, with 42% of enrollment. The remaining shares are 26% Black, 20% Hispanic, and 10% multiracial. Long County as a whole is about 55% White, so the school's share is lower. The chance that two students picked at random at Smiley Elementary School belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 70%.
Smiley Elementary School counts 48.1 full-time-equivalent teachers, about 15.9 students for each one. The 13.3:1 average for elementary schools in Georgia is lower than this school's figure. About 77% of students at the school meet free or reduced-price lunch income limits. That is close to the 77% average for public schools in Long County.
allk12 grades Smiley Elementary School a B-. The grade compares the school only with Georgia public elementary schools, because each state gives its own test.
Predicted from its free or reduced-price lunch share, Smiley Elementary School would score about 37.4%. It scores 36.8%, within a point of that figure.
Recent Census Bureau figures for Long County show that median household income is about $68,808, 13% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 15% of people live in poverty. Federal data list 5 public schools in Long County, with a combined enrollment of about 4,724.
The closest public school to Smiley Elementary School is Long County High School, about 0.3 miles away. Other public schools within five miles number 4. Smiley Elementary School comes in 3rd of 8 nearby schools on average proficiency.
The National Center for Education Statistics classifies the school's location as Rural: Distant, meaning it is in rural territory some distance from an urban area.
From 2020-21 to 2024-25, Smiley Elementary School went from 997 students to 765.
Threads on this page can be about school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Long County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
18,374
Census ACS
Median income
$68,808
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
13%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
15%
Below federal line
Schools in county
5
4,724 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Long County
- Long County High SchoolHigh · 1,353 students
- Long County Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,007 students
- Long County Primary SchoolElementary · 905 students
- McClelland Elementary SchoolElementary · 694 students
Other schools in Ludowici
- Long County High SchoolHigh · 1,353 students
- Long County Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,007 students
- Long County Primary SchoolElementary · 905 students
- McClelland Elementary SchoolElementary · 694 students
Other Smiley Elementary schools
One other US public school is named Smiley Elementary. Smiley Elementary School is the largest of the 2.
- Smiley ElementaryRedlands, CA · 634 students
Nearby schools
- Long County High School0.3 mi · 1,353
- Long County Primary School1.0 mi · 905
- McClelland Elementary School2.7 mi · 694
- Long County Middle School2.7 mi · 1,007
- Taylors Creek Elementary School9.3 mi · 765
- Waldo Pafford Elementary School9.8 mi · 741
Frequently asked questions
About Smiley Elementary SchoolHow large is Smiley Elementary School?
Smiley Elementary School enrolls approximately 765 students in grades 02-03.
What grades does Smiley Elementary School serve?
Smiley Elementary School serves grades 02-03.
How many teachers does Smiley Elementary School have?
Smiley Elementary School employs 48 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 15.9:1.
How diverse is Smiley Elementary School?
Smiley Elementary School reports a student body of 42% White, 20% Hispanic, 26% Black, 0% Asian, 10% Two or more.
Is Smiley Elementary School public or private?
Smiley Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Long County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.