Summary:
The Williamsburg 01 school district in rural South Carolina serves 1,217 elementary students across four schools—W.M. Anderson Primary (PK-2), Kenneth Gardner Leadership Academy (3-5), Hemingway Elementary (PK-5), and Greeleyville STEAM Academy (PK-4)—with the district ranking in the bottom 20% of the state and earning a 1-star rating.
For parents, the standout choice is Greeleyville STEAM Academy, the only school in the district to earn a 2-star rating. It leads the district in 3rd-grade ELA and math (both 56.1% proficient), 5th-grade math (47.7%), and 5th-grade ELA (63.7%), while also having the lowest chronic absenteeism rate at 24.2%. It also spends the most per student at $28,236, which appears to support its upward trend—its state ranking improved from the 20th to 31st percentile in recent years. In contrast, Kenneth Gardner Leadership Academy is the lowest performer, with math proficiency in the low-to-mid 30s and a 13th-percentile state rank. Hemingway Elementary shows a bright spot in 4th-grade ELA (70.4% proficient) but struggles in 5th-grade math (19.4%). W.M. Anderson Primary faces a major challenge with a 45.6% chronic absenteeism rate among its youngest students.
District-wide, the most pressing issues are chronic absenteeism (35.6% vs. 22.3% statewide) and a severe science gap—only 20.5% of 4th graders are proficient in science compared to 51.6% statewide. Even Greeleyville STEAM Academy dropped to 10.5% in 4th-grade science. Class sizes are small (12.8:1 to 14.1:1), and per-student spending is high, but results vary widely by grade and subject, suggesting that teacher quality and targeted investments—not just funding—drive success. Parents should weigh Greeleyville’s consistent gains against the district’s overall struggles, especially in science and early-grade attendance.
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