Athens Reporter

There were 1,844 third grade students enrolled in Clarke County schools in the 2022-23 school year, 3.6% less than the previous year, according to reports from the Georgia Department of Education.

Whitehead Road Elementary School welcomed the largest number of third grade students among county schools, registering 229 students during the 2022-23 school year.

Within Clarke County schools, the highest student count was found in 10th grade, with the smallest class sizes seen in seventh grade.

Statewide, Clarke County ranked 31st in enrollment numbers, with a total of 27,976 students enrolled in the 2022-23 school year. It was ranked 29th the year before.

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 name	# of 3rd Grade Students Enrolled	% of Student Body	Total Enrollment
Whitehead Road Elementary School	229	18.8%	1,217
Oglethorpe Avenue Elementary School	188	18.4%	1,021
Gaines Elementary School	154	17.1%	902
Barrow Elementary School	143	18.3%	780
Whit Davis Road Elementary School	140	18.6%	751
Chase Street Elementary School	139	16.1%	863
Timothy Elementary School	131	13.8%	951
Barnett Shoals Elementary School	122	14.4%	846
Winterville Elementary School	114	17.7%	645
Judia Jackson Harris Elementary School	106	14.9%	713
Fowler Drive Elementary School	102	15%	679
Howard B. Stroud Elementary School	98	15.9%	617
Alps Road Elementary School	98	17.2%	570
Cleveland Road Elementary School	80	16.6%	482