Summary:
The city of Manning, South Carolina, is served by the Clarendon 06 school district, which operates four public schools—Manning Early Childhood Center (PK-3), Manning Elementary (3-5), Manning Junior High (6-8), and Manning High (9-12)—together educating about 2,364 students.
For parents, the most striking issue is a district-wide chronic absenteeism problem. Every school exceeds the state average of 22.3%, with Manning Early Childhood Center the worst at 45.2%, followed by Manning Junior High (35.3%), Manning Elementary (29.8%), and Manning High (27.4%). Academically, there is a clear "math slide" as students advance: at Manning Elementary, math proficiency falls from 48.5% in 3rd grade to just 23.3% in 5th grade, and at Manning Junior High, 7th-grade math proficiency plummets to 15.2% versus the state's 41.8%. In contrast, ELA scores are closer to state averages across all grades.
There are notable bright spots. Manning High has a paradox: it holds the district's lowest state ranking (9th percentile) yet boasts a 90.4% graduation rate and a 1.3% dropout rate, both better than state averages. Its English 2 proficiency is strong at 73.3%, but English 1 is a weak point at 32.3%. Per-student spending varies widely, from $15,819 at Manning Early Childhood Center down to $12,859 at Manning High, yet higher spending does not correlate with better outcomes. Student-teacher ratios are tightest at Manning Junior High (16.6:1) and loosest at Manning High (19.6:1). Overall, the district earns a 2-star rating, ranking 49th of 75 in South Carolina, indicating significant room for improvement, particularly in math and attendance.
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