Meeting Street at Burns

Meeting Street at Burns is a small elementary school in North Charleston, SC, serving 295 students in grades PK through 5 within the highly-rated Charleston 01 school district. The school earns a solid 3-star overall rating, placing it in the 65th percentile statewide—a remarkable achievement given that most nearby schools in the area rank in the bottom 20 percent.

The most impressive story here is how well the school serves students who are often underserved elsewhere. Meeting Street at Burns ranks 10th out of 379 schools in the entire state for its African American students, earning a 5-star rating in that category. It also ranks in the 84th percentile for students from low socio-economic backgrounds, showing the school is effectively closing achievement gaps. This success stands in stark contrast to its geographic neighbors: Chicora Elementary (0.64 miles away) ranks in the 6th percentile, North Charleston Elementary (2.18 miles away) ranks in the 1st percentile, and Matilda F. Dunston Elementary (3.6 miles away) ranks in the 3rd percentile. The school's success is clearly not a product of the neighborhood—it's the result of what happens inside the building.

Early-grade academics are a particular strength. In 3rd grade, 76.3% of students are proficient in ELA and 73.7% in math—both well above state and district averages. However, proficiency declines by 5th grade (60.4% ELA, 52.3% math), though scores still hover near state averages. The school also achieves these results with a favorable student-teacher ratio of 8.9, and notably, it outperforms schools that spend significantly more per student. For parents, this is a school that's clearly doing something right in the early years, with a strong track record of lifting up students who face the biggest challenges.