Summary:
The city of Clinton, South Carolina, is served by five public schools—two elementary schools, one middle school, one high school, and one charter school—educating roughly 2,800 students across the Laurens 56 and Charter Institute at Erskine districts.
For parents, the standout choice is Eastside Elementary, which earns a 4-star rating and outperforms state averages in nearly every subject—for example, 76% of 3rd graders meet ELA standards versus 64% statewide. In contrast, Clinton Elementary has fallen sharply to a 1-star rating, with 4th grade math proficiency at just 20.6% compared to Eastside’s 59.5%. At the secondary level, Clinton Middle struggles with grade-level math (31–35% proficiency), though its Algebra 1 students shine at 91.3% proficiency. Clinton High posts a graduation rate of 82.7% and a chronic absenteeism rate of 26.3%, both worse than state averages. Meanwhile, Thornwell Charter School—despite its alternative label—achieves a 93.1% graduation rate and a 0.0% dropout rate, outperforming Clinton High on both measures.
Key takeaways: Eastside’s rapid improvement (from 54th to 75th percentile in two years) suggests effective strategies that could be shared with Clinton Elementary. Thornwell’s success challenges assumptions about alternative schools, though its subject performance is uneven—strong in 6th grade science but weak in 4th grade math. Notably, spending does not predict outcomes: Clinton High spends the most per student ($16,352) yet underperforms, while Thornwell spends the least ($12,988) and leads in graduation. The district’s biggest challenges are math proficiency, high school attendance, and the widening gap between its two elementary schools. Its hidden strength is the middle school’s Algebra pipeline, which could serve as a model for lifting overall math achievement.
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