High school (grades 9-12) · Atlanta, GA

D. M. Therrell High School

Federal NCES profile for D. M. Therrell High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 39/100.

2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 130012004215
0/100100/10039/100
👥 S:T ratio
40
📚 AP courses
35
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
52
📋 Attendance
0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

D. M. Therrell High School earns 39/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Georgia median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Georgia schools.

#7 of 19
high schools in Atlanta · Resource Index
39
Resource Index · Typical
15.1:1
students per teacher
100.0%
free-lunch eligible

D. M. Therrell High School has class sizes near the Georgia median. Computed live against every Georgia school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, D. M. Therrell High School ranks #7 of 19 high schools in Atlanta, GA.

School address

Enrollment

964

Georgia · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

64.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

15.1:1

vs 14.4:1 Georgia avg

+5% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

100.0%

vs 60.7% Georgia avg

+65% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How D. M. Therrell High School compares with Georgia and U.S. medians

Slightly above state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at D. M. Therrell High School

D. M. Therrell High School is a high-poverty, mid-sized high school in Atlanta, Georgia, enrolling 964 students.

Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 15.1:1 puts it in the larger third of Georgia schools by student-teacher ratio.

Economic need is high: 100.0% of students qualify for free meals, 65% above the Georgia average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.

Enrollment of 964 puts it in the larger third of Georgia schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 2,314 scored Georgia schools.

Against 268 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #83.

Its student body is predominantly African American (94% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 11/100).

On the academic-pipeline side it reports 7 Advanced Placement courses.

Counselor coverage is strong, about 241 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 57.5% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

The surrounding Atlanta Public Schools spends $22,882 per pupil, 65% above the Georgia average, a better-resourced district than most.

Its district draws 15.7% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Discipline events run high: 411 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 964 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.

The federal civil-rights collection also records 14 expulsions at this campus for 2021-22.

Among Atlanta's high schools, it stands alongside North Atlanta High School (2,368 students): D. M. Therrell High School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (15.1:1 vs 16.1:1).

Atlanta Public Schools also operates North Atlanta High School (2,368 students) and Midtown High School (1,696 students) alongside D. M. Therrell High School.

Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25

How D. M. Therrell High School compares

D. M. Therrell High School on the metrics families compare, against Georgia and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Georgia Georgia avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 15.1:1 ▲ 5% 14.4:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 100.0% ▲ 65% 60.7% 51.7%
Enrollment 964 top 21% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

15.1:1
Leaner classes than 46% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
964
Bigger than 90% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
100.0%
free-lunch eligible - 65% above the Georgia average of 60.7%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
15.1:1
students per teacher - 5% above state mean
Top 65% in Georgia - lower ratio than 35% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
57.5%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$22,882
per pupil, district-wide - above Georgia avg of $13,863
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors4.0 FTE
Per 241 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
125
in-school suspensions + 286 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 13.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 42.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 14 expulsions.

Overview

  • Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
  • Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
  • F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.

Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.

Student demographics

African American 94.4%
Hispanic or Latino 3.7%
Two or More 1.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
White 0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Asian 0.1%

Largest group: African American at 94.4% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 10.7/100

Simpson diversity index - at 10.7, D. M. Therrell High School is less mixed than the Georgia school average of 50.0.

Programs

AP courses offered 7
Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Atlanta Public Schools, which includes D. M. Therrell High School.

$22,882
Per student
+65%
vs Georgia
Avg $13,863
+38%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 68.7%
State 15.6%
Federal 15.7%

Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.

How D. M. Therrell High School Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
North Atlanta High School Larger Lower economic need Similar S:T ratio
Midtown High School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Willis a. Sutton Middle School Larger Lower economic need Similar S:T ratio
Maynard Jackson High School Larger Lower economic need Similar S:T ratio
Benjamin E. Mays High School Larger Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to D. M. Therrell High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Atlanta Public Schools · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar high schools in Atlanta

6 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.

Similar high schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Georgia, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on D. M. Therrell High School's federal record.

Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.

Frequently asked questions about D. M. Therrell High School

How many students attend D. M. Therrell High School?

D. M. Therrell High School has 964 students enrolled. It is a high school in Atlanta, GA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at D. M. Therrell High School?

The student-teacher ratio at D. M. Therrell High School is 15.1:1, which is 5% higher than the Georgia average of 14.4:1 and 4% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at D. M. Therrell High School?

100.0% of students at D. M. Therrell High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Georgia average of 60.7%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of D. M. Therrell High School?

The largest demographic group at D. M. Therrell High School is African American at 94.4% of enrollment, in Atlanta, GA.

What is the Resource Investment Index for D. M. Therrell High School?

D. M. Therrell High School has a Resource Investment Index of 39/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does D. M. Therrell High School rank among high schools in Atlanta?

By Resource Investment Index, D. M. Therrell High School ranks #7 of 19 high schools in Atlanta, GA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all high schools in Atlanta on the city page.

Is D. M. Therrell High School a good school?

D. M. Therrell High School earns 39/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Georgia median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Georgia schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.

What other schools are in Atlanta Public Schools?

Besides D. M. Therrell High School, Atlanta Public Schools also operates North Atlanta High School (2,368 students), Midtown High School (1,696 students), and Willis a. Sutton Middle School (1,619 students). See the Atlanta Public Schools district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.