320 African American students attend Clarke Middle School for 2024-25

Clarke Middle School had 320 African American students enrolled during the 2024-25 school year, an increase of 6.7% over the prior year, reports the Georgia Department of Education.

According to enrollment figures, Clarke Middle School reached a total of 712 students in the 2024-25 school year. Of these, African American students accounted for 45%, making them the school’s largest demographic group.

This school operates within the Clarke County School District, whose central office is located in Athens.

Out of 21 schools in the Clarke County School District, Clarke Central High School reported the highest count of African American students in the 2024-25 school year, enrolling 725 students.

Georgia’s public schools served more than 1.7 million students, based on figures from the Georgia Department of Education’s Fiscal Year 2026-1 report. The greatest enrollment was in elementary grades with 787,206 students (45.9%), followed by middle schools with 388,733 (22.7%), and high schools enrolling 539,092 (31.4%).

Chronic absenteeism persists as a concern in Georgia’s schools after the pandemic, with 20.7% of students missing 10% or more instructional days in 2024, according to the Georgia Department of Education. To address the issue, GaDOE introduced a statewide strategy that includes a real-time attendance dashboard, a public outreach effort, and concentrated support for districts with high needs to improve daily attendance.

In 2025, state legislators in Georgia revised school attendance statutes, eliminating expulsion solely due to absenteeism. The legislation requires new kinds of reporting and matches students with programs providing alternative diploma pathways.

By 2026, Georgia’s average student-to-teacher ratio was about 14:1, outpacing the national average of 15:1.