In the 2024-25 school year, Friendship Elementary School reported 252 Hispanic students enrolled—a decrease of 1.2% from the prior year, data from the Georgia Department of Education showed.
The school’s total enrollment for the 2024-25 school year was 665 students. Hispanic students accounted for 38% of the overall student population, making them the second-largest demographic at the school.
Friendship Elementary School is part of the Hall County School District, headquartered in Gainesville.
Out of 35 schools in the Hall County School District, Johnson High School had the largest number of Hispanic students in the 2024-25 school year, enrolling 1,040.
According to the Georgia Department of Education’s Fiscal Year 2026-1 report, Georgia public schools enrolled more than 1.7 million students. Elementary schools had the most students, totaling 787,206 (45.9%), followed by 388,733 in middle schools (22.7%), and 539,092 in high schools (31.4%).
The rate of chronic absenteeism remains high in Georgia after the pandemic, with 20.7% of students missing at least 10% of school days in 2024, according to the Georgia Department of Education. GaDOE responded by launching a statewide attendance initiative featuring a real-time dashboard, a public outreach campaign, and extra support for districts with higher absentee rates to help increase attendance.
In 2025, a new law revised Georgia’s attendance policies, removing expulsion solely for absenteeism. The legislation also creates new reporting requirements and aligns with programs offering alternative routes to earning a diploma.
By 2026, the statewide student-to-teacher ratio in Georgia was about 14:1, which is lower than the national average of 15:1.
| School Year | Total Enrollment | Total Hispanic students | % of Hispanic students |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-11 | 676 | 121 | 18% |
| 2011-12 | 638 | 121 | 19% |
| 2012-13 | 641 | 128 | 20% |
| 2013-14 | 631 | 132 | 21% |
| 2014-15 | 633 | 120 | 19% |
| 2015-16 | 657 | 111 | 17% |
| 2016-17 | 673 | 134 | 20% |
| 2017-18 | 644 | 141 | 22% |
| 2018-19 | 659 | 144 | 22% |
| 2019-20 | 651 | 188 | 29% |
| 2020-21 | 638 | 191 | 30% |
| 2021-22 | 673 | 215 | 32% |
| 2022-23 | 677 | 236 | 35% |
| 2023-24 | 691 | 255 | 37% |
| 2024-25 | 665 | 252 | 38% |
Information in this article was obtained from the Georgia Department of Education. The source data can be found here.