South Georgia Times

There were 1,194 African American students enrolled in Ben Hill County school district in the 2022-23 school year, 1.8% less than the previous year, according to the Georgia Department of Education.

Data showed that Ben Hill County school district welcomed 2,778 students during the 2022-23 school year. Among them, African American students comprised 43% of the student body to be the most represented ethnicity in the county's school district.

This is the only school district located within Ben Hill County, with its 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	% African American students	Total enrollment
Ben Hill County	43%	2,778