Middle Schools in Williamsburg 01

The three middle schools serving the Williamsburg 01 district in rural South Carolina—Kingstree Middle Magnet, C. E. Murray Middle, and Hemingway MB Lee Middle—serve roughly 629 students in grades 5-8, and all face significant academic challenges compared to state averages, though with notable bright spots.

C. E. Murray Middle is the clear standout, consistently earning the district's only 2-star rating and showing the most improvement. Despite having the smallest enrollment (157 students), it leads the district in math proficiency across nearly every grade, including a remarkable 40% proficiency in 6th grade math—nearly double the district average and matching the state average. It also posts the strongest science scores (43.3%) and the most favorable student-teacher ratio (9.2:1). In contrast, Kingstree Middle Magnet, the largest school, has declined sharply from a 2-star to a 1-star rating, with 6th grade math proficiency plummeting from 35.5% to 15% in one year. Hemingway MB Lee Middle remains the most struggling school, with the lowest enrollment (131 students), the highest chronic absenteeism rate (41.1%—nearly double the state average), and consistent bottom-quartile rankings, though it did show slight improvement this year.

Chronic absenteeism is a district-wide crisis, affecting 30.6% to 41.1% of students compared to the 22.3% state average, and this likely drives much of the low performance. Interestingly, all three schools spend generously—between $17,785 and $20,289 per student—yet outcomes lag, suggesting money alone isn't the solution. There are also pockets of strength: ELA proficiency in 7th and 8th grades at Kingstree and C. E. Murray approaches or exceeds district averages, and Hemingway's 6th grade ELA (51.2%) nears the state average. The year-to-year volatility in scores, especially in math, points to small cohort sizes where one class can dramatically shift results, making targeted attendance and math interventions critical for improvement.