Summary:
Easley, South Carolina is served by two middle schools—Richard H. Gettys Middle and Dacusville Middle—both part of the Pickens 01 district, which holds a 4-star rating and ranks in the 77th percentile statewide. Together, these schools educate roughly 1,573 students in grades 6-8, with Gettys being the much larger campus at 1,217 students compared to Dacusville’s 356.
For parents, the standout choice is Richard H. Gettys Middle, which is showing strong upward momentum. Its state ranking jumped from 134th to 102nd in the latest year, and it outperforms Dacusville Middle in nearly every subject. Gettys posts notably higher ELA proficiency (roughly 63-64% vs. 51-58% at Dacusville) and stronger standard math scores in 6th and 7th grades. Both schools shine in advanced math—Gettys hits 95% and Dacusville a perfect 100% on the Algebra EOCEP—but Gettys also excels in science (65.7% vs. 63.4%) and has improved its 8th-grade ELA by 15.6 points in one year. Dacusville, despite spending 53% more per student ($16,338 vs. $10,709), has seen its ranking slide 60 spots and now trails Gettys in most categories.
A key concern for both schools is chronic absenteeism, which hovers above 30%—well above the district (24.3%) and state (22.3%) averages. Standard math remains the weakest area for both, with proficiency in the 28-44% range, even as advanced math results are exceptional. Science is a clear district strength, with both schools beating the state average by 11-14 points. While Gettys is clearly the higher-performing and improving school, Dacusville offers a smaller environment and perfect Algebra results, though its recent decline and higher spending without proportional gains warrant attention.
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