Bolton Academy Elementary vs Fernbank Elementary School

Bolton Academy Elementary holds a 9.1/10 overall rating against Fernbank Elementary School's 8.7/10 — a 0.4-point gap that translates to a meaningful difference in state rank: Bolton Academy Elementary sits at #51 of 2,268 Georgia schools while Fernbank Elementary School ranks #149 of the same pool. Both schools clear a high bar in absolute terms, but Bolton Academy's standing puts it in the top 2.3% of the state compared to Fernbank's top 6.6%.

The academic and growth picture is tightly contested but favors different schools depending on the metric. Fernbank Elementary School edges ahead on academic score — 8.0/10 versus Bolton Academy Elementary's 7.7/10 — suggesting stronger measured proficiency on state assessments. Bolton Academy Elementary, however, posts a growth score of 9.6/10 against Fernbank's 9.8/10; both numbers are exceptional, separated by only 0.2 points. In practice, families prioritizing current grade-level proficiency will find Fernbank slightly stronger, while both schools demonstrate that students are making substantial year-over-year learning gains regardless of where they start.

The demographic and resource picture separates the two schools more sharply. Bolton Academy Elementary enrolls 557 students at a student-teacher ratio of 13.3:1, while Fernbank Elementary School serves a larger population of 768 students at 14.8:1 — meaning Bolton Academy classrooms average roughly one fewer student per teacher. Bolton Academy Elementary also serves a higher proportion of economically disadvantaged students: 41% qualify for free or reduced lunch compared to 25% at Fernbank Elementary School. That gap signals meaningfully different socioeconomic compositions and may reflect differences in the support resources and programming each school has developed over time.

Both schools cover the same grade span, PK through 5th grade, so families with children across early elementary years face no structural difference in continuity of enrollment. The two campuses sit 8.4 miles apart within Atlanta, making direct comparison practical for families whose address puts them between attendance zones or who have school-choice options. Neither school offers a program-level distinction flagged in the available data, so the decision turns on the quantitative profile: Bolton Academy's higher overall rank and smaller class sizes versus Fernbank's marginally stronger academic proficiency score and larger, less economically diverse student body.