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Now more than ever, parents have many choices for their child’s education. Some of the largest school systems in Georgia reside in the metro area. Yet, no matter how big or small, each system provides a quality education. We’ve gathered the statistics that matter most – class size, quality of staff and per pupil expenditure – when choosing the right district for your child. See what each system has to offer in the profiles below.

Atlanta Public Schools 404-802-3500 www.atlanta.k12.ga.us         Back to Top Atlanta Public Schools is the sixth largest school system in Georgia with 49,392 students. There are 3,465 teachers, of which 55 percent have advanced degrees. 59 elementary (2 year-round); 16 middle; 14 high schools (7 magnet schools); 4 non-traditional/evening schools; 7 charter schools Pupil to teacher ratios: Kindergarten, 15 to 1 Grades 1-3, 17 to 1 Grades 4-5, 23 to 1 Middle, 21 to 1 High, 23 to 1 Per pupil expenditure: $11,665 Bartow County School System 770-606-5800 www.bartow.k12.ga.us   Back to Top There are 14,468 students attending Bartow County’s 21 schools, with 56 percent of 1,072 teachers holding advanced degrees. 12 elementary; 4 middle; 3 high schools; 1 alternative school; 1 preschool Pupil to teacher ratio: 16 to 1 Per pupil expenditure: $6,280 Buford City Schools 770-945-5035 www.bufordcityschools.org   Back to Top There are 2,644 students enrolled in Buford City Schools. 69 percent of the 189 teachers have advanced degrees. 2 elementary; 1 middle; 1 high school. Student to teacher ratio: 14 to 1 Per pupil expenditure: $8,280 Cherokee County School District 770-479-1871 www.cherokee.k12.ga.us   Back to Top Cherokee County has 36,276 students attending 36 schools. There are 2,503 teachers in the county, of which 57 percent have advanced degrees. 20 elementary; 6 middle; 5 high schools; 1 evening high school; 1 alternative school; 1 pre-K center; 1 intermediate school; 1 special services center Pupil to teacher ratio: 14 to 1 Per pupil expenditure: $8,272 Clayton County Public Schools 770-473-2700 www.clayton.k12.ga.us   Back to Top Clayton County has the fifth largest school system in Georgia with more than 52,400 students. Of the district’s 3,496 teachers, 49 percent have advanced degrees. 35 elementary; 14 middle; 8 high schools; 1 alternative school Pupil to teacher ratios: 15 to 1 Per pupil expenditure: $6,880.08 Cobb County School District 770-426-3300 www.cobbk12.org         Back to Top Cobb County is the second largest school system in Georgia with more than 107,274 students attending 115 schools. There are 8,800 certified employees with 56 percent having advanced degrees. There are also 108 National Board Certified teachers. 67 elementary; 24 middle; 17 high schools; 1 transition learning center; 1 alternative school; 2 special education centers; 1 adult education center; 1 open campus high school; 1 ESOL Center Pupil to teacher ratio meets or is lower than state mandated numbers Per pupil expenditure: $8,547 Coweta County School System 770-254-2800 www.cowetaschools.org       Back to Top Coweta County has 21,600 students and about 3,100 employees with 48 percent certified employees. 18 elementary; 6 middle; 3 high schools; 1 adult education school; 1 alternative school; 1 open-campus high school; 1 transition learning center; 1 performing and visual arts center Pupil to teacher ratios: Grades K-3, 21 to 1 Grades 4 and 5, 23 to 1 Middle/High, 28 to 1 Per pupil expenditure: $7,305 City Schools of Decatur 404-370-4400 www.decatur-city.k12.ga.us     Back to Top The City Schools of Decatur have 2,495 students attending seven schools. Of the district’s 233 teachers, 78 percent have advanced degrees. 1 pre-K; 3 Kindergarten-third; 1 fourth-fifth; 1 middle; 1 high school Pupil to teacher ratio: 17 to 1 Per pupil expenditure: $12,768 DeKalb County School System 678-676-1200 www.dekalb.k12.ga.us     Back to Top DeKalb County School System is the third largest school system with 101,079 students. Out of the 8,157 teachers in the system, 62 percent hold advanced degrees. 84 elementary; 20 middle; 21 high schools; 3 technical schools; 1 alternative school; 6 special education centers; 14 magnet programs; 7 theme schools; 104 Pre-K classes. Pupil to teacher ratio: 23 to 1 Per pupil expenditure: $8,187 Douglas County School System 770-651-2000 www.douglas.k12.ga.us   Back to Top There are approximately 23,596 students attending Douglas County’s 31 schools. 54 percent of the 1,805 teachers have advanced degrees. 19 elementary, 7 middle, 4 high schools; 1 Performance Learning Center Pupil to teacher ratio meets or is lower than state mandated standards Per pupil expenditure: $6,864.33 Fayette County Public Schools 770-460-3535 www.fcboe.org   Back to Top Fayette County School System has 22,190 students and 1,857 teachers – more than half of the teachers have advanced degrees. 17 elementary; 6 middle; 5 high schools; 1 alternative school; 1 evening high school Pupil to teacher ratio: Kindergarten, 20 to 1 with a paraprofessional Grade 1-3, 21 to 1 Grades 4-5, 25 to 1 Middle, 25 to 1 High, 26 to 1 Per pupil expenditure: $8,317.86 Forsyth County Schools 770-887-2461 www.forsyth.k12.ga.us   Back to Top More than 30,000 students attend Forsyth County’s 30 schools. There are approximately 4,000 certified employees in the system, of which 70 percent have advanced degrees. Opening five new schools in the next two years. 16 elementary; 8 middle; 4 high schools; 1 alternative learning center; 1 charter non-traditional high school Pupil to teacher ratio: 20 to 1 Per pupil expenditure: $7,199 Fulton County Schools 404-768-3600 www.fultonschool.org         Back to Top The fourth largest school system in Georgia, Fulton County has more than 80,000 students and 7,000 certified staff members at 93 schools. 37 percent of the teachers hold advanced degrees. 53 elementary (37 with pre-K programs); 18 middle; 14 high schools (2 with open campuses); 5 charter schools Pupil to teacher ratios: Kindergarten, 19 to 1 with full-time assistant Grades 1-3, 20 to 1 with part-time assistant Grades 4-5, 27 to 1 Middle, 27 to 1 High, 27 to 1 Per pupil expenditure: $8,260 Gainesville City Schools 770-536-5275 www.gcssk12.net   Back to Top There are 5,423 students attend Gainesville City’s seven schools. 433 teachers are employed by the system, and 61 percent of them have advanced degrees. 5 elementary; 1 middle; 1 high school; 1 alternative school; 1 phoenix academy Pupil to teacher ratio: 12.5 to 1 Per pupil expenditure: $7,565 Gwinnett County Public Schools 678-301-6000 www.gwinnett.k12.ga.us         Back to Top With 159,258 students attending 111 schools, Gwinnett County is the largest school system in Georgia. It has more than 25,000 active teaching positions. The average GCPS teacher holds a masters degree or higher. 66 elementary; 20 middle; 16 high schools; 2 pre-K centers; 9 other educational facilities Pupil to teacher ratios: Kindergarten, 18 to 1 w/o a paraprofessional; 20 to 1 with a paraprofessional Grade 1-3, 21 to 1 Grades 4-5, 28 to 1 Middle, 28 to 1 High, 30 to 1 Per pupil expenditure: $7,705 Hall County Schools 770-534-1080 www.hallco.org   Back to Top There are 24,258 students and 1,618 certified staff at Hall County’s 33 schools. 65 percent of the teachers have obtained Master’s Degrees and 20 percent have achieved Specialist or Doctorate Degrees. 20 elementary; 6 middle; 6 high schools; 1 non-traditional high school Pupil to teacher ratio: 15 to 1 Per pupil expenditure: $7,159 Henry County Schools 770-957-6601 www.henry.k12.ga.us   Back to Top There are approaching 40,000 students and 3,046 teachers in Henry County Schools. 50 percent of the teachers have advanced degrees. 26 elementary; 10 middle; 9 high schools; 1 alternative school; 1 evening academy Pupil to teacher ratio: 22 to 1 Per pupil expenditure: $6,955 Marietta City Schools 770-422-3500 www.marietta-city.org   Back to Top Some 8,000 students attending Marietta City’s 12 schools, with 66 percent of the 643 teachers holding advanced degrees. 7 elementary; 1 middle; 1 high schools; 1 sixth grade academy; 1 alternative school; 1 magnet school Pupil to teacher ratio: 18 to 1 Per pupil expenditure: $9,828 Paulding County School District 770-443-8000 www.paulding.k12.ga.us   Back to Top The Paulding County school district has 28 schools, 25,704 students and 2,034 classroom teachers. 53 percent of the teachers hold advanced degrees. 17 elementary; 6 middle; 4 high schools; 1 alternative school; 1 night school Pupil to teacher ratio: 16 to 1 Per pupil expenditure: $6,121 Rockdale County Public Schools 770-483-4713  www.rockdale.k12.ga.us     Back to Top There are 15,471 students attending Rockdale County public schools. Approximately 64 percent of the 1,050 certified personnel hold advanced degrees. 11 elementary; 4 middle; 4 high schools; 1 career/vocational academy; 1 Alpha School; 1 evening academy; 1 magnet school Pupil to teacher ratio: K-5, 20 to 1 Grades 6-8, 24 to 1 Grades 9-12, 21 to 1 Per pupil expenditure: $7,021

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