Athens Reporter

Jefferson High School had the highest enrollment among Jackson County schools, welcoming 1,205 students during the 2022-23 school year, according to the Georgia Department of Education.

Of all the students welcomed in the 2022-23 school year, 51% of them were male, and 49% were female.

Data also showed that most of the students were white, representing 77% of the Jefferson High School total enrollment.

Among the four schools in Jackson County, Jefferson Middle School ranked second in enrollment numbers with 1,005 students, while Jefferson Academy welcomed 935 students to be ranked third in the 2022-23 school year.

Jefferson High School is part of Jefferson City School District, which generally encompasses schools within Jackson County, with its main office in Jefferson.

In the previous school year, Jefferson High School also had the highest number of students among Jackson County schools.

While enrollment in Georgia inches closer to pre-pandemic levels, chronic absenteeism remains a serious challenge. In 2023, a significant portion of students (23%) missed 10% or more of their classes. Although this is slightly better than the peak of 25% in 2022, it's still nearly double the pre-pandemic rate of 13% recorded in 2019.

School	City	Total School Enrollment
Jefferson High School	Jefferson	1,205
Jefferson Middle School	Jefferson	1,005
Jefferson Academy	Jefferson	935
Jefferson Elementary School	Jefferson	804