Greenwood 52

Greenwood 52 is a compact, highly-rated school district in Ninety Six, South Carolina, serving about 1,359 students across four schools from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, and it holds a 5-star rating, ranking 8th out of 75 districts statewide.

For parents, the standout story here is exceptional math achievement, especially in the lower grades. Ninety Six Elementary School posts remarkable results, with 5th grade math proficiency at 74.5%—a staggering 25 percentage points above the state average—and 4th grade math at 66% versus 52.3% statewide. This strength continues at Edgewood Middle School, which achieved a perfect 100% proficiency rate in Algebra 1 and strong 8th grade scores in both math (57.5% vs. 44.2% statewide) and ELA (70% vs. 58.9% statewide). Ninety Six High School is the district's academic anchor, with an 87.9% graduation rate, a remarkably low 0.9% dropout rate, and strong English 2 proficiency at 85.72%. The district's chronic absenteeism is a major competitive advantage, ranging from just 6.8% at Ninety Six Primary School to 8.6% at Edgewood Middle, compared to the state's troubling 22.3% rate.

While math is a clear district-wide strength, early elementary reading shows room for growth. Both 3rd and 4th grade ELA scores at Ninety Six Elementary fall slightly below state averages, but by 5th grade the district pulls ahead, and by 8th grade it enjoys an 11.1 percentage point advantage. Resource allocation is remarkably equitable, with per-student spending varying by only $216 across all four schools, and class sizes are smallest at the primary level (11.3:1), suggesting a strong investment in early foundations. One note of caution: despite strong absolute scores, the district's percentile rankings have slipped over three years, indicating other schools statewide are improving faster. Still, for families prioritizing math excellence, strong attendance, and a supportive, well-funded environment, Greenwood 52 is an outstanding choice.