Bessie L. Baggett Elementary

Bessie L. Baggett Elementary is a middle-of-the-pack elementary school in Powder Springs, Georgia, part of Paulding County. The school caters to 549 students in grades pre-K through 5.

Paulding County comprises 34 schools with combined enrollment of 31,426 students; Bessie L. Baggett Elementary is among them.

Looking at the student body, Bessie L. Baggett Elementary logs that 37% of students identify as Black, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups; the rest comes out to 32% White, 23% Hispanic, 7% multiracial. By comparison, Paulding County as a whole is about 23% Black, so the school skews noticeably more Black than its surroundings.

On the resource side, Bessie L. Baggett Elementary lists 46 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 11.9:1. The state averages around 13.3:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. An estimated 70% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. Set against Paulding County (around 51%), the school's rate is somewhat above typical.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Bessie L. Baggett Elementary tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 41.0% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 28.6%.

In the broader community, Paulding County reports that median household earnings sit near $98,031, 30% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 5% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Bessie L. Baggett Elementary is one of 34 public schools in Paulding County (combined enrollment of about 31,426 students).

J. A. Dobbins Middle School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.4 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Bessie L. Baggett Elementary. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Bessie L. Baggett Elementary at 9th of 9; the average score across the group is 34.5%.

The school occupies a bedroom-community site.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Bessie L. Baggett Elementary has declined 14%, going from 635 students in 2018 to 549 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 44% to 32% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 14.8:1 in 2018 to 11.9:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.