Middle school (grades 6-8) · Dallas, GA

P. B. Ritch Middle School

Federal NCES profile for P. B. Ritch Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 45/100.

2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 130402004074
0/100100/10045/100
👥 S:T ratio
44
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
31
📋 Attendance
37
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

P. B. Ritch Middle School earns 45/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Georgia median.

#1 of 7
middle schools in Dallas · Resource Index
45
Resource Index · Typical
14.1:1
students per teacher
49.0%
free-lunch eligible

P. B. Ritch Middle School has class sizes near the Georgia median. Computed live against every Georgia school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, P. B. Ritch Middle School ranks #1 of 7 middle schools in Dallas, GA.

School address

Enrollment

690

Georgia · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

49.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

14.1:1

vs 14.4:1 Georgia avg

-2% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

49.0%

vs 60.7% Georgia avg

-19% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How P. B. Ritch Middle School compares with Georgia and U.S. medians

At or below 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 P. B. Ritch Middle School

P. B. Ritch Middle School is a mid-sized middle school in Dallas, Georgia, enrolling 690 students.

At 14.1:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Georgia median, within a few percentage points of the 14.4:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.

Its free-meal eligibility rate of 49.0% lands close to the Georgia typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.

With 690 students, its enrollment sits close to the Georgia median campus size.

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

Against 451 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #117.

Its student body is led by African American (57%) and White (17%) (diversity index 62/100).

Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 345 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 25.4% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Discipline events run high: 355 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 690 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.

The federal civil-rights collection also records 9 expulsions at this campus for 2021-22.

Among Dallas's middle schools, it stands alongside Lena Mae Moses Middle School (921 students): P. B. Ritch Middle School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (14.1:1 vs 16.2:1).

Paulding County also operates North Paulding High School (3,015 students) and Paulding County High School (2,099 students) alongside P. B. Ritch Middle 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 P. B. Ritch Middle School compares

P. B. Ritch Middle 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 14.1:1 ▼ 2% 14.4:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 49.0% ▼ 19% 60.7% 51.7%
Enrollment 690 top 42% - -

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

14.1:1
Leaner classes than 56% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
690
Bigger than 80% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
49.0%
free-lunch eligible - 19% below the Georgia average of 60.7%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
14.1:1
students per teacher - 2% below state mean
Top 51% in Georgia - lower ratio than 49% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
25.4%
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
$11,640
per pupil, district-wide - below Georgia avg of $13,863
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 345 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
188
in-school suspensions + 167 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 27.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 51.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 9 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 56.5%
White 17.4%
Hispanic or Latino 15.7%
Two or More 8.7%
Asian 1.0%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%

Largest group: African American at 56.5% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 61.8/100

Simpson diversity index - at 61.8, P. B. Ritch Middle School is more mixed than the Georgia school average of 50.0.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Paulding County, which includes P. B. Ritch Middle School.

$11,640
Per student
-16%
vs Georgia
Avg $13,863
-30%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 36.7%
State 51.2%
Federal 12.1%

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 P. B. Ritch Middle School Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
North Paulding High School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Paulding County High School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
East Paulding High School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
South Paulding High School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Hiram High School Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to P. B. Ritch Middle School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Paulding County · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar middle schools in Dallas

6 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.

Similar middle 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 P. B. Ritch Middle 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 P. B. Ritch Middle School

How many students attend P. B. Ritch Middle School?

P. B. Ritch Middle School has 690 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Dallas, GA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at P. B. Ritch Middle School?

The student-teacher ratio at P. B. Ritch Middle School is 14.1:1, which is 2% lower than the Georgia average of 14.4:1 and 10% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at P. B. Ritch Middle School?

49.0% of students at P. B. Ritch Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Georgia average of 60.7%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of P. B. Ritch Middle School?

The largest demographic group at P. B. Ritch Middle School is African American at 56.5% of enrollment, in Dallas, GA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 61.8/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for P. B. Ritch Middle School?

P. B. Ritch Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does P. B. Ritch Middle School rank among middle schools in Dallas?

By Resource Investment Index, P. B. Ritch Middle School ranks #1 of 7 middle schools in Dallas, GA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all middle schools in Dallas on the city page.

Is P. B. Ritch Middle School a good school?

P. B. Ritch Middle School earns 45/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Georgia median. 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 Paulding County?

Besides P. B. Ritch Middle School, Paulding County also operates North Paulding High School (3,015 students), Paulding County High School (2,099 students), and East Paulding High School (1,985 students). See the Paulding County 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.