South Georgia Times

Fitzgerald High School had the highest enrollment among Ben Hill County schools, welcoming 837 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, 50% of them were male, and 50% were female.

The most represented ethnicity among Fitzgerald High School students was Black, with 44% of students identifying as such.

Among the five schools in Ben Hill County, Ben Hill County Middle School ranked second in enrollment numbers with 689 students, while Ben Hill County Primary School welcomed 666 students to be ranked third in the 2022-23 school year.

Fitzgerald High School is part of Ben Hill County School District, which generally encompasses schools within Ben Hill County, with its main office in Fitzgerald.

In the previous school year, Fitzgerald High School also had the highest number of students among Ben Hill 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
Fitzgerald High School	Fitzgerald	837
Ben Hill County Middle School	Fitzgerald	689
Ben Hill County Primary School	Fitzgerald	666
Ben Hill Elementary School	Fitzgerald	538
Hurricane Transition Academy	Fitzgerald	38