Summary:
The city of Prosperity, South Carolina is home to three public schools: Mid-Carolina High School, Mid-Carolina Middle School, and Prosperity-Rikard Elementary School. These schools serve students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade and are part of the Newberry 01 school district.
Among the three schools, Mid-Carolina High School stands out as the top performer, consistently ranking in the top 25-30% of high schools in South Carolina and earning a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger. The school boasts impressive test scores, with over 90% of students proficient or better in Algebra 1/Mathematics and English 2. Additionally, Mid-Carolina High has a relatively low dropout rate of 2.3% and a strong 4-year graduation rate of 85.4%. In contrast, Prosperity-Rikard Elementary is the lowest performing school, ranking in the bottom 40% of elementary schools in the state and earning only a 2-star rating.
Across the three schools, spending per student is relatively consistent, ranging from $13,389 to $13,966 per student, and student-teacher ratios are also similar. However, the schools face challenges, such as high free/reduced lunch rates (ranging from 51.01% to 100%) and concerning chronic absenteeism rates (ranging from 22.5% to 22.5%). These factors may contribute to the performance gap between the high school and the elementary/middle schools. The Newberry 01 district as a whole is ranked 32 out of 75 districts in the state and rated 3 stars, suggesting opportunities for the district to learn from the practices and strategies employed at the high-performing Mid-Carolina High School and apply them to the other schools.
Thank you for your feedback!