Irma C. Austin Middle School

As a mid-sized middle school in Douglasville, Georgia, Irma C. Austin Middle School hosts 782 students from grades 6 through 8, part of Paulding County.

Paulding County comprises 34 schools with combined enrollment of 31,426 students; Irma C. Austin Middle School is among them.

On the student-mix side, Irma C. Austin Middle School lists that 42% of students identify as White, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. Other groups include 36% Black, 15% Hispanic, 6% multiracial. By comparison, Paulding County as a whole is about 63% White, so the school skews meaningfully less White than its surroundings.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 52 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 15.0:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 14.1:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. Around 58% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, often used as a Title I proxy.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Irma C. Austin Middle School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 47.2% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 36.4%.

In the surrounding community, the surrounding county (Paulding County) logs that median household earnings sit near $98,031, roughly 30% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 5% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Paulding County's 34 public schools (combined enrollment of about 31,426 students), Irma C. Austin Middle School is one campus in the mix.

South Paulding High School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 1.3 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Irma C. Austin Middle School at 2nd of 9; the average score across the group is 34.3%.

The campus sits in a bedroom-community setting.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count decreased 16%: 927 students in 2018 compared to 782 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 58% to 42% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio tightened from 16.3:1 in 2018 to 15.0:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, posts here usually surface around sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.