During the 2024-25 school year, Garden Lakes Elementary School registered 42 multiracial students, reflecting a 13.5% increase from the prior year, reports the Georgia Department of Education.
The school’s total enrollment reached 472 students for the same period. Multiracial students represented 9% of the population, ranking as the third-largest ethnicity at the school.
Garden Lakes Elementary is part of the Floyd County School District, which is headquartered in Rome.
Among the 14 schools in Floyd County School District, Coosa High School had the greatest number of multiracial students during the 2024-25 school year, with 50 students enrolled.
Georgia’s public school enrollment surpassed 1.7 million students, according to the Georgia Department of Education’s Fiscal Year 2026-1 report. Elementary grades enrolled 787,206 students (45.9%), followed by 388,733 in middle schools (22.7%), and 539,092 in high schools (31.4%).
Chronic absenteeism continues to be a significant concern in Georgia schools after the pandemic, with 20.7% of students missing 10% or more school days in 2024, per the Georgia Department of Education. To address this, GaDOE introduced a statewide strategy featuring a real-time attendance dashboard, a public awareness campaign, and targeted support for districts with the highest need.
In 2025, state lawmakers updated school attendance regulations to prohibit expulsion solely due to absenteeism. The changes also introduce new reporting requirements and coordinate with alternative diploma programs.
By 2026, Georgia’s average student-to-teacher ratio stood at roughly 14:1, lower than the national average of 15:1.
| School Year | Total Enrollment | Total multiracial students | % of multiracial students |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-11 | 555 | 33 | 6% |
| 2011-12 | 578 | 28 | 5% |
| 2012-13 | 587 | 29 | 5% |
| 2013-14 | 608 | 24 | 4% |
| 2014-15 | 587 | 29 | 5% |
| 2015-16 | 630 | 25 | 4% |
| 2016-17 | 641 | 38 | 6% |
| 2017-18 | 630 | 31 | 5% |
| 2018-19 | 603 | 30 | 5% |
| 2019-20 | 602 | 30 | 5% |
| 2020-21 | 613 | 49 | 8% |
| 2021-22 | 480 | 28 | 6% |
| 2022-23 | 459 | 27 | 6% |
| 2023-24 | 465 | 37 | 8% |
| 2024-25 | 472 | 42 | 9% |
Information for this article came from the Georgia Department of Education. Source data is available here.
