Summary:
The Calhoun 01 district in South Carolina is home to two elementary schools: Sandy Run School and St. Matthews K-8 School. These schools serve students from pre-kindergarten through 5th grade and face significant challenges, with both performing well below the state average on academic assessments.
While Sandy Run School has a more diverse student population, with 57.37% White, 33.86% African American, and 6.49% Hispanic students, St. Matthews K-8 School has a majority African American student body at 77.76%. Both schools have low rankings within the state, with Sandy Run School ranked 481 out of 638 and St. Matthews K-8 School ranked 528 out of 638 elementary schools for the 2023-2024 school year.
Academically, the schools struggle, with proficiency rates in English Language Arts and Mathematics significantly below the state average across all grade levels. For example, in 3rd grade English Language Arts, Sandy Run School had a 34.5% proficiency rate, compared to the state average of 53.8%. Both schools also have 100% of their students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating high levels of economic disadvantage. Despite the higher-than-average spending per student, the schools continue to underperform, suggesting that simply increasing funding may not be the sole solution to improving educational outcomes in the Calhoun 01 district.
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