Summary:
Foothills Regional High School is the sole high school in the State Specialty Schools I- Foothills Regional High School district, serving grades 9–12 in Athens, GA, with an enrollment of 1,475 students.
This school is facing severe, interconnected challenges that parents should understand before enrolling their child. The most alarming statistic is the graduation rate of just 11.4% for 2024–2025, compared to the state average of 87.2% — meaning fewer than 1 in 8 students graduates. The dropout rate is 30.1%, which is more than 12 times the state's 2.4% average. Chronic absenteeism is nearly universal at 93.9% (versus 17.7% statewide), meaning almost every student is missing significant amounts of school. The student-teacher ratio is an extreme 51.5:1, making individualized attention nearly impossible. The school's state ranking has plummeted from the 51st percentile (3 stars) in 2023–2024 to the 19th percentile (1 star) in 2025–2026, a drop of 144 positions in just two years.
Academically, test scores are well below state averages across all subjects. In 2025–2026, only 21.7% of students were proficient in Algebra I (state: 48.1%), 24.2% in Biology (state: 47.2%), and 20.4% in U.S. History (state: 38.5%). While Algebra I improved slightly from the prior year, Biology and U.S. History declined significantly. The school spends $15,437 per student — a substantial amount — yet outcomes remain among the lowest in the state, suggesting that funding alone isn't the answer. With 73.42% of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch, this is a high-poverty school. Parents should be aware that the school appears to be in a crisis that is intensifying, and targeted interventions around attendance, staffing, and student support would be critical. Note that English Language Arts (ELA) scores are not included in this release and will be published in December; no conclusions should be drawn from their absence.
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