South Georgia Times

There were 338 Hispanic students enrolled in Ben Hill County school in the 2022-23 school year, 3.4% less than the previous year, according to reports from the Georgia Department of Education.

Data showed that Ben Hill County welcomed 2,768 students during the 2022-23 school year. Among them, Hispanic students comprised 12.2% of the student body to be the third most represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the five schools in Ben Hill County, Fitzgerald High School recorded the highest enrollment of Hispanic students in the 2022-23 school year, with a total of 125 students.

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 Hispanic Students	Total Hispanic Students	Total enrollment
Fitzgerald High School	15%	125	837
Hurricane Transition Academy	14%	5	38
Ben Hill County Middle School	12%	82	689
Ben Hill County Primary School	11%	73	666
Ben Hill Elementary School	10%	53	538