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What do you wish you knew before starting at William M. McGarrah Elementary School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
658
Elementary
DISTRICT 584 · STATE 605
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CLAYTON COUNTY·NCES 130123000483
William M. McGarrah Elementary School
2201 Lake Harbin Rd, Morrow, GA 30260 · (770) 968-2910 · Clayton County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL658 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 37% of Georgia public elementary schools
- C-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.
- A-Three-year trend Change in reading and math proficiency over the last three test years.
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
14.3:1
46 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.0:1 · STATE 13.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
100%
658 students
DISTRICT 99% · 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 47 | 7% |
| Kindergarten | 98 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 100 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 95 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 116 | 18% |
| Grade 4 | 105 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 97 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (98) is about the same size as its 5th grade class (97).
Student demographics
57%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 48% · 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
26.0%
GA avg 40.1% . +4.8pp since 2021
Math
31.1%
GA avg 44.6% . +12.1pp since 2021
What this means: On the Georgia Milestones, Georgia's statewide test, about 26 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 31 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Georgia schools, those numbers are about 40 and 45. Reading and writing scores are up about 5 points since 2021, while math scores are up about 12 points.
Georgia Milestones results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 26.0% | 31.1% |
| 2023-24 | 23.2% | 29.1% |
| 2022-23 | 20.0% | 24.6% |
| 2021-22 | 21.2% | 19.1% |
% 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
25.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
25.7%
based on GA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-0.2pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 25% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 26% 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 William M. McGarrah Elementary School
William M. McGarrah Elementary School's state test result (25.5% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| William M. McGarrah Elementary School this school | 658 | 100.0% | 25.5% |
| Thurgood Marshall Elementary School Morrow | 801 | 100.0% | 23.2% |
| Stone Mill Elementary School Stone Mountain | 601 | 100.0% | 15.6% |
| Clearview Elementary School LaGrange | 676 | 95.3% | 18.1% |
| Rockbridge Elementary School Stone Mountain | 900 | 100.0% | 21.7% |
| Peachcrest Elementary School Decatur | 729 | 100.0% | 12.7% |
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 William M. McGarrah Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Georgia | In Clayton County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 25.5% | #916 of 1,208 | #11 of 37 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 31.1% | #834 of 1,215 ▲ 28 | #7 of 37 ▲ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 26.0% | #849 of 1,215 ▲ 124 | #8 of 37 ▲ 10 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +8.4pp | #200 of 1,183 | #16 of 36 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 658 | #462 of 1,324 | #12 of 41 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.3:1 | #931 of 1,301 | #27 of 40 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 56.7% | #607 of 1,301 | #5 of 40 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 100% | #86 of 1,312 | #11 of 41 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -11.9% | #463 of 854 | #29 of 34 |
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
658
+11 (+2%) vs 2020
-21% since 1990-91, when it was 838
Student : Teacher
14.3:1
was 15.1:1
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 | 658 | 46 | 14.3:1 | 100% (658) |
| 2023-24 | 649 | 44 | 14.8:1 | 99% (642) |
| 2022-23 | 642 | 48.8 | 13.2:1 | 90% (580) |
| 2020-21 | 647 | 43 | 15.1:1 | 93% (602) |
| 2017-18 | 747 | 46 | 16.2:1 | 99% (743) |
| 2015-16 | 713 | 44 | 16.2:1 | 100% (710) |
| 2010-11 | 654 | 45 | 14.5:1 | 88% (573) |
| 2000-01 | 1,004 | 53 | 18.9:1 | 61% (613) |
| 1990-91 | 838 | 46 | 18.2:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for William M. McGarrah Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 12% (747 to 658); teachers unchanged (46 to 46).
About William M. McGarrah Elementary School
William M. McGarrah Elementary School is a mid-sized elementary school in Clayton County, located in Morrow, Georgia. The school covers pre-K through 5 and reported 658 students in 2024-25.
William M. McGarrah Elementary School is part of Clayton County, where 68 schools serve 51,326 students.
Of every 100 students at William M. McGarrah Elementary School, about 61 are Black. It is also 22% Hispanic, 10% Asian, 4% multiracial, and 2% White. Clayton County's residents are about 69% Black, 8 points above the school's share. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, William M. McGarrah Elementary School scores 57%.
The school had 46 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25. Its student-to-teacher ratio is 14.3:1. The gap from the 13.3:1 average for elementary schools in Georgia is 1.0 students per teacher. The school reported 100% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024-25.
William M. McGarrah Elementary School holds a C+ allk12 Grade, placing it above 37% of Georgia public elementary schools.
The allk12 BeatsExpectations score for William M. McGarrah Elementary School is -0.2 points: 25.5% actual, 25.7% predicted.
For the population of Clayton County, median household income comes to about $59,806, roughly 23% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 15%. Clayton County counts 73 public schools with about 63,156 students.
Of the public schools around it, William M. McGarrah Elementary School is closest to Forest Park Middle School, about 0.8 miles away. There are at least 8 other public schools within five miles. William M. McGarrah Elementary School ranks 4th of 9 among nearby schools on average proficiency, with 25.5% against a local average of 28.1%.
Its NCES locale code is Suburb: Large: the school is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
Enrollment went from 647 in 2020-21 to 658 in 2024-25, a change of 11 students.
On allk12, people connected to William M. McGarrah Elementary School can post about athletics, class schedules, and weather closures. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Clayton County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
298,924
Census ACS
Median income
$59,806
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
23%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
15%
Below federal line
Schools in county
73
63,156 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Clayton County
- Morrow High SchoolHigh · 2,077 students
- Lovejoy High SchoolHigh · 2,049 students
- Forest Park High SchoolHigh · 1,711 students
- Charles R. Drew High SchoolHigh · 1,708 students
- Mundy's Mill High SchoolHigh · 1,665 students
- Jonesboro High SchoolHigh · 1,630 students
Other schools in Morrow
- Thurgood Marshall Elementary SchoolElementary · 801 students
- Morrow Middle SchoolMiddle · 794 students
- Haynie Elementary SchoolElementary · 767 students
- Tara Elementary SchoolElementary · 570 students
- Morrow Elementary SchoolElementary · 406 students
Nearby schools
- Forest Park Middle School0.8 mi · 593
- Utopian Academy for the Arts High School0.8 mi · 291
- Morrow Middle School0.8 mi · 794
- Thurgood Marshall Elementary School0.8 mi · 801
- Morrow Elementary School1.4 mi · 406
- Roberta T. Smith Elementary School1.8 mi · 720
Frequently asked questions
About William M. McGarrah Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at William M. McGarrah Elementary School?
William M. McGarrah Elementary School enrolls approximately 658 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does William M. McGarrah Elementary School serve?
William M. McGarrah Elementary School serves grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at William M. McGarrah Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at William M. McGarrah Elementary School is approximately 14.3:1 (46 FTE teachers).
How diverse is William M. McGarrah Elementary School?
William M. McGarrah Elementary School reports a student body of 2% White, 22% Hispanic, 61% Black, 10% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Is William M. McGarrah Elementary School public or private?
William M. McGarrah Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Clayton County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.