Forts Pond Elementary

Forts Pond Elementary is a PK-5 school in rural Pelion, SC, serving 478 students as part of the Lexington 01 district.

Forts Pond Elementary is currently facing significant challenges, with its academic performance at its lowest point in recent history. In the 2025-2026 school year, the school ranked in the 13th percentile statewide, a notable decline from just a few years prior. This performance gap is substantial when compared to other schools in the same district. For example, Carolina Springs Elementary, located about 8 miles away, achieves proficiency rates that are 30 to 45 percentage points higher in several subjects. Even Pelion Elementary, the closest school at just 1.5 miles away, outperforms Forts Pond in most areas, though it also faces its own struggles. The most concerning academic areas are math and science, where only about 27-29% of students meet proficiency standards, compared to district averages of 53-56%.

A major factor contributing to these outcomes appears to be a severe chronic absenteeism problem. In the 2024-2025 school year, 35.5% of Forts Pond students were chronically absent, compared to 22.7% for the district and 22.3% for the state. This rate has increased dramatically over the past four years, growing from 7.8% in 2020-2021 to its current level—a 355% increase. By contrast, Deerfield Elementary in the same district has a chronic absenteeism rate of just 14.9% and achieves substantially better test scores. Interestingly, Forts Pond spends more per student ($17,826) than many higher-performing nearby schools, including Carolina Springs Elementary ($14,004), and maintains a favorable student-teacher ratio of 11.1:1. This suggests the challenges are not primarily about resources but may be tied to attendance, family engagement, and instructional quality. On a positive note, the school has shown improvement with disabled students, moving from the 6th percentile to the 27th percentile, which demonstrates that targeted interventions can yield results.