Summary:
The city of Rowesville, South Carolina is home to two public schools: Bethune-Bowman Middle/High and Bethune-Bowman Elementary. Both schools serve students in the Orangeburg school district and face significant challenges in providing quality education to their students.
Based on the available data, neither Bethune-Bowman Middle/High nor Bethune-Bowman Elementary can be considered standout schools. Both institutions are ranked in the bottom tiers of their respective school types in South Carolina, with Bethune-Bowman Middle/High ranked in the bottom 15-20% of high schools and Bethune-Bowman Elementary ranked in the bottom 10% of elementary schools. These low rankings are reflected in their 1-star and 0-star ratings, respectively, out of a possible 5 stars.
The schools' struggles are further evidenced by their academic performance. Both institutions have significantly lower proficiency rates compared to the Orangeburg district and the state of South Carolina across various subject areas and grade levels. For example, in 2024-2025, only 19.5% of 6th graders at Bethune-Bowman Middle/High were proficient or better in ELA, compared to 33.8% in Orangeburg and 56% statewide. Additionally, the schools have high chronic absenteeism rates, with 22.5% of students chronically absent. Despite the relatively high spending per student, the schools are not achieving strong academic outcomes, suggesting that simply increasing funding may not be the sole solution to improving these schools.
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