Terrell Regional Youth Detention Center

Terrell Regional Youth Detention Center, a minimally staffed secondary school in Dawson, Georgia, one of the schools within Department of Juvenile Justice, teaches 14 students, covering grades 6 through 12. That puts it 99% below the typical public school in Georgia, which averages around 1,120 students.

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

For racial and ethnic makeup, Terrell Regional Youth Detention Center logs that the student body is overwhelmingly Black (100%). The wider county runs roughly 60% Black, putting the school's mix visibly more Black than the area baseline.

On the resource side, Terrell Regional Youth Detention Center logs 6 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 2.3:1. The state averages around 15.2:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. An estimated 79% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. By comparison, Terrell County runs at roughly 96%, so the school's eligibility rate is meaningfully below the surrounding baseline.

In the broader community, the surrounding county (Terrell County) shows that median household income runs about $46,171, 13% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 26%. Terrell Regional Youth Detention Center is one of 4 public schools in Terrell County (combined enrollment of about 935 students).

The closest other public school is Cooper-Carver Elementary School, roughly 0.9 miles away. Within five miles, there are 3 other public schools.

The school occupies a small-town site.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Terrell Regional Youth Detention Center has grew 75%, going from 8 students in 2018 to 14 in 2025.

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