Elementary Schools in Horry 01

The Horry 01 school district in South Carolina serves 30 elementary schools, ranging from large traditional campuses with over 1,400 students to small charter schools with just 100 students, and includes specialized grade configurations like the Myrtle Beach Primary (grades 1-2) and Early Childhood (PK-K) split system.

For parents, the standout schools in this area are River Oaks Elementary, St. James Elementary, and Palmetto Academy of Learning and Success Charter. River Oaks is the district's highest-ranked traditional school, achieving 5-star status with exceptional ELA scores (82-83% proficiency) and remarkable 3rd-grade math performance (82.9%, 18 points above the district average), all while being the largest school in the district. St. James has been a consistent 5-star performer for three years, with 4th-grade ELA at 86.7% and science proficiency 16 points above average. Palmetto Academy, despite spending the least per student ($10,311), achieves the highest ELA scores in the district (up to 94.3%) and has the lowest chronic absenteeism at just 5.3%. On the other end, Myrtle Beach Elementary and Loris Elementary are the lowest-performing traditional schools, with math proficiency dipping below 36% and 33% respectively, and Loris showing a dramatic 125-position drop in state rankings in a single year.

Key takeaways for families include a clear correlation between attendance and achievement—schools with the lowest chronic absenteeism (Palmetto Academy at 5.3%, Ocean Bay Elementary at 10.0%) consistently rank in the top half, while those with the highest absenteeism (Loris at 20.8%, Myrtle Beach Primary at 20.1%) struggle academically. Math proficiency also declines across grade levels district-wide, with schools like Waccamaw Elementary dropping from 63.7% in 3rd grade to 38.6% in 5th grade. Notably, spending does not predict success—the lowest-spending school (Palmetto Academy) outperforms the highest-spending traditional school (South Conway Elementary at $16,393/student), and coastal schools like River Oaks and St. James generally outperform rural western schools. Finally, rankings can be volatile, so parents should look at multi-year trends rather than single-year results.