Upson-Lee Middle School enrolled 8 Asian students for 2024-25

Eight Asian students attended Upson-Lee Middle School during the 2024-25 school year, a decrease of 11.1% from the prior year, based on Georgia Department of Education Georgia Department of Education reports.

The school’s total enrollment stood at 884 students for the 2024-25 school year. Of these, Asian students represented 1% of the population, the school’s smallest ethnic group.

Upson-Lee Middle School operates within the Thomaston-Upson County School District, centrally administered in Thomaston.

Of the four schools in the Thomaston-Upson County School District, Upson-Lee High School had the largest number of Asian enrollees for the 2024-25 school year with 11 students.

National Center for Education Statistics data indicate that in Georgia public schools, students were roughly 36.4% Black, 35.9% white, 18.1% Hispanic, 4% Asian, 4.6% multiracial, 0.2% American Indian or Alaska Native, and 0.1% Pacific Islander.

Chronic absenteeism continues to challenge Georgia schools after the pandemic. In 2024, 20.7% of students missed at least 10% of school days, according to the Georgia Department of Education. To address this, the Georgia Department of Education began a new initiative with resources like a live attendance dashboard, a public awareness strategy, and additional help for districts with higher needs to encourage daily student attendance.

In 2025, Georgia lawmakers approved changes to attendance rules forbidding expulsion for absenteeism alone. The revision also establishes new reporting rules and support for alternative diploma paths.

By 2026, Georgia’s student-to-teacher ratio averaged around 14:1, an improvement compared to the U.S. average of 15:1.