South Georgia Times

Of all the ethnicities represented in Ben Hill County School District, the most prevalent among the county's students in the 2022-23 school year was African American, according to the Georgia Department of Education.

Among the 2,778 students attending Ben Hill County schools, 43% were African American. White students were the second most common ethnicity, making up 41% of Ben Hill County student body.

In the previous school year, African American students were also the most common ethnicity in Ben Hill County School District, representing 43% of the student body.

In the 2022-23 school year, the total number of students enrolled in school districts in the county dropped 1.8% when compared to the previous year.

Ben Hill County School District, the only school district in the county, has a main office in Fitzgerald.

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.

District	Most prevalent ethnicity	% of Total Student Body	Total Enrollment
Ben Hill County School District	African American	43%	2,778