Richards Middle School

Located at 3555 Sugarloaf Pkwy, in Lawrenceville, Georgia, Richards Middle School is a sizable middle school that teaches 1,974 students (grades 6 through 8), run under Gwinnett County. Compared to the state average of about 763 students per school, that is 159% bigger than typical.

Within Gwinnett County, which oversees 141 schools and 182,518 students, Richards Middle School is one campus in the system.

On demographics, Richards Middle School reports that Hispanic students make up the majority at 57%. Beyond that, the school reports 27% Black, 8% Asian, 5% White, 2% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 24% Hispanic, putting the school's mix visibly more Hispanic than the area baseline.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 137 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 14.4:1 students per teacher. That tracks the state average closely. Roughly 83% of students at Richards Middle School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. By comparison, Gwinnett County runs at roughly 60%, so the school's eligibility rate is meaningfully above the surrounding baseline.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Richards Middle School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 34.4% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 32.8%.

In the broader community, Gwinnett County reports that median household income runs about $87,890, about 39% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 9%. In all, Gwinnett County runs 150 public schools (combined enrollment of about 196,924 students), of which Richards Middle School is one.

The closest other public school is Cedar Hill Elementary School, roughly 0.1 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Richards Middle School ranks 5th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 39.0%.

The campus sits in a bedroom-community setting.

Looking at the recent track record. Richards Middle School's enrollment has declined 9% since 2018, when it stood at 2,160 (now 1,974). Hispanic enrollment moved from 47% to 57% across the same window. Class-load math has fell: from 17.2:1 in 2018 to 14.4:1 in 2025.

On the community side, posts here usually surface around classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. The community welcomes input from current and former families.