West Atlanta News

There were 4,785 fourth grade students enrolled in Paulding County schools in the 2022-23 school year, 3.2% more than the previous year, according to reports from the Georgia Department of Education.

Floyd L. Shelton Elementary School at Crossroad welcomed the largest number of fourth grade students among county schools, registering 528 students during the 2022-23 school year.

Within Paulding County schools, the highest student count was found in ninth grade, with the smallest class sizes seen in kindergarten.

Statewide, Paulding County ranked 11th in enrollment numbers, with a total of 62,687 students enrolled in the 2022-23 school year. It was also ranked 11th 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 4th Grade Students Enrolled	% of Student Body	Total Enrollment
Floyd L. Shelton Elementary School at Crossroad	528	18.6%	2,841
WC Abney Elementary School	483	19%	2,548
Burnt Hickory Elementary School	364	17.4%	2,089
Allgood Elementary School	299	18.2%	1,643
Roland W. Russom Elementary School	296	15.8%	1,873
Hiram Elementary School	263	16.3%	1,612
Northside Elementary School	243	19.2%	1,266
Hal Hutchens Elementary School	239	18.5%	1,290
Nebo Elementary School	237	16.9%	1,401
Connie Dugan Elementary School	234	18.1%	1,290
Sara M. Ragsdale Elementary School	198	16.8%	1,178
Sam D. Panter Elementary School	191	18.5%	1,032
C. A. Roberts Elementary School	189	14.4%	1,312
McGarity Elementary School	187	16%	1,167
Bessie L. Baggett Elementary School	180	15.7%	1,145
Dallas Elementary School	174	17.6%	990
Union Elementary School	174	18.9%	922
Lillian C. Poole Elementary School	156	16.6%	939
New Georgia Elementary School	150	17.8%	844