Burnt Hickory Elementary School recorded 121 African American students for the 2024-25 school year, a 10.4% decline from the prior year, according to the Georgia Department of Education.
The school’s total enrollment reached 1,009 students in 2024-25. African American students accounted for 12% of the population, ranking as the school’s second-largest demographic group.
Situated in the Paulding County School District, Burnt Hickory Elementary is overseen from the district office in Dallas.
Of the 33 schools in the Paulding County district, Hiram High School had the highest number of African American students for 2024-25, with 780 enrolled.
Statewide, Georgia public schools enrolled more than 1.7 million students, as shown in the Georgia Department of Education’s Fiscal Year 2026-1 report. Elementary schools had the largest share at 787,206 students (45.9%), followed by middle schools with 388,733 (22.7%), and high schools with 539,092 (31.4%).
Chronic absenteeism continues to be a significant concern for Georgia schools after the pandemic, affecting 20.7% of students who missed at least 10% of school days in 2024, the Georgia Department of Education reports. To address this, GaDOE began a statewide campaign that includes a real-time attendance dashboard, a public outreach effort, and targeted help for higher-need districts to improve attendance rates.
In 2025, state lawmakers approved a law revising attendance policies to prohibit expulsion based only on absenteeism. This update also imposes new reporting obligations and supports alternative pathways for students to earn diplomas.
Georgia had a student-to-teacher ratio of about 14:1 as of 2026, state data show, which is an improvement compared with the national average of 15:1.
| School Year | Total Enrollment | Total African American students | % of African American students |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-11 | 920 | 36 | 4% |
| 2011-12 | 924 | 36 | 4% |
| 2012-13 | 899 | 44 | 5% |
| 2013-14 | 882 | 35 | 4% |
| 2014-15 | 887 | 44 | 5% |
| 2015-16 | 903 | 45 | 5% |
| 2016-17 | 936 | 65 | 7% |
| 2017-18 | 955 | 66 | 7% |
| 2018-19 | 1,022 | 81 | 8% |
| 2019-20 | 1,054 | 94 | 9% |
| 2020-21 | 1,061 | 95 | 9% |
| 2021-22 | 1,071 | 107 | 10% |
| 2022-23 | 1,049 | 115 | 11% |
| 2023-24 | 1,045 | 135 | 13% |
| 2024-25 | 1,009 | 121 | 12% |
