Summary:
Hardeeville, South Carolina, is served by three schools—Hardeeville Junior/Senior High (grades 6-12), Hardeeville Elementary (grades PK-5), and Royal Live Oaks Academy of the Arts and Sciences Charter School (grades K-12)—which together paint a picture of starkly different educational experiences within a single small city.
The standout is Royal Live Oaks Academy, which consistently outperforms the traditional public schools by wide margins. Its district, Charter Institute at Erskine, ranks 40th out of 75 in the state, while Jasper 01 ranks 72nd. For example, in 4th-grade ELA, Royal Live Oaks posts a 72.5% proficiency rate versus just 26.8% at Hardeeville Elementary, and in 8th-grade math the gap is 48.1% versus 15.6%. The charter school also has a higher graduation rate (91.1% vs. 88.8%), a better student-teacher ratio (12.7:1 vs. 20.9:1 at the elementary and 16.3:1 at the high school), and spends about $2,000 more per student. Hardeeville Junior/Senior High does show some strengths—its graduation rate is above the state average and its dropout rate is just 0.5%—but its state ranking has declined for three straight years, and math proficiency remains critically low across both traditional schools.
Chronic absenteeism is a citywide concern, with all three schools exceeding the state average of 22.3%; Hardeeville Elementary is highest at 38.7%. For parents, the data suggests that Royal Live Oaks Academy offers the strongest academic outcomes, while the traditional public schools face significant challenges, particularly in math and attendance.
Thank you for your feedback!