Elbert Shaw Regional Youth Detention Center

Elbert Shaw Regional Youth Detention Center is a micro-enrollment secondary school in Dalton, Georgia, overseen by Department of Juvenile Justice. The school caters to 9 students in grades 5 through 12. That puts it 99% leaner than the typical public school in Georgia, which averages around 1,120 students.

Across the 24 schools in Department of Juvenile Justice (410 students total), Elbert Shaw Regional Youth Detention Center accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On demographics, Elbert Shaw Regional Youth Detention Center reports that the largest single group is White at 33%, but no single group is in the majority. Other groups include 33% Black, 22% Hispanic, 11% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 65% White, putting the school's mix meaningfully less White than the area baseline.

In terms of school funding signals, Staff filings list 3 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 3.0:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 15.2:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Roughly 33% of students at Elbert Shaw Regional Youth Detention Center qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. Set against Whitfield County (around 83%), the school's rate is noticeably below typical.

Across the wider county, community-level numbers for Whitfield County indicate the typical household earns roughly $67,070 per year, roughly 20% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 11% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Whitfield County runs 33 public schools (combined enrollment of about 19,570 students), of which Elbert Shaw Regional Youth Detention Center is one.

Nearest neighbor: The Dalton Academy, around 0.6 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius.

Geographically, the school is in an inner-city area.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count rose 350%: 2 students in 2018 compared to 9 in 2025. The Hispanic share of enrollment ticked down from 100% to 22% over that span.

Within the allk12 community for this school, members of the Elbert Shaw Regional Youth Detention Center community share and discuss enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. Members of the school community can share what they know.