Best Public Schools in Wando, SC

The city of Wando, South Carolina, is served by two schools within the Berkeley 01 school district, which together form a PK-8 educational pathway for the community. Philip Simmons Elementary (grades PK-4, 535 students) and Philip Simmons Middle (grades 5-8, 473 students) share a campus on Seven Sticks Drive and have nearly identical per-student spending of roughly $13,800, indicating a coordinated approach to resource allocation. Notably, Wando has no standalone high school, so students must transition to schools outside the city limits for grades 9-12.

Philip Simmons Elementary is the clear standout, ranking 113th out of 649 elementary schools in South Carolina (83rd percentile, 4 stars) for 2025-2026. Its 3rd grade ELA proficiency of 89.5% and 3rd grade math proficiency of 86% both exceed state averages by more than 25 percentage points. The school also boasts remarkably low chronic absenteeism at 11.5%, less than half the district average of 23.9%. Philip Simmons Middle ranks 89th out of 335 middle schools (73rd percentile, 4 stars) and has improved its state ranking by 18 positions over two years. Its most impressive achievement is a perfect 100% proficiency rate on the Algebra 1 EOCEP exam, compared to 65.63% district and 73.95% state averages, though its standard math proficiency in grades 6-8 ranges from 44.4% to 52.2%.

The most concerning pattern is a dramatic decline in math proficiency as students advance, with 3rd grade math at 86% dropping to 46.7% by 5th grade—a 39.3-point collapse. This "5th grade cliff" suggests either a curriculum transition issue or a particularly challenging cohort. Chronic absenteeism also jumps from 11.5% at the elementary level to 19.1% at the middle school, which may partially explain the academic dip. Across both schools, ELA consistently outperforms math relative to state averages, with the gap widening in middle school. Despite these challenges, both schools deliver above-average results with standard resource allocation, and the middle school's perfect Algebra 1 scores indicate that advanced students are exceptionally well-prepared for high school coursework.