Summary:
The Jasper 01 school district in South Carolina serves two elementary schools—Ridgeland Elementary and Hardeeville Elementary—both covering Pre-K through 5th grade, with a combined enrollment of roughly 1,466 students in a district that ranks in the bottom 4% statewide.
If you're comparing the two schools, Ridgeland Elementary is clearly the stronger option. It ranks in the 8th percentile statewide (596th of 649 schools), while Hardeeville Elementary sits at the 1st percentile (645th of 649). In English Language Arts, Ridgeland posts proficiency rates in the high 30s to low 40s across grades, compared to Hardeeville's low 20s to high 20s. The gap is even starker in math: Ridgeland's 3rd grade proficiency is 39.7% versus Hardeeville's 19.2%, and in 4th grade it's 23.2% versus 15.0%. Ridgeland also has a better student-teacher ratio (18.0 vs. 20.9) and slightly higher per-student spending ($12,298 vs. $12,009). Both schools earn a 0-star rating, but Ridgeland is consistently outperforming its counterpart across every subject and grade level.
The most pressing issue for both schools is chronic absenteeism, which affects roughly 40% of students—nearly double the state average of 22.3%. This likely fuels the achievement gap, as both schools trail state proficiency averages by 20 to 40 percentage points in every subject. Hardeeville's 4th grade math proficiency of just 15% means fewer than 1 in 6 students meet grade-level standards, a critical red flag. Meanwhile, Ridgeland shows a notable drop in 4th grade math (from 39.7% in 3rd grade to 23.2%), suggesting a curriculum transition challenge. Neither school has shown meaningful year-over-year improvement, despite spending over $12,000 per student. For parents, Ridgeland offers a better educational environment, but both schools face systemic hurdles that will require targeted interventions around attendance and academic support to close the substantial gaps with the rest of South Carolina.
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