Sandhills Elementary

Sandhills Elementary in Swansea, SC, is a small school serving 491 students in just 3rd and 4th grades, part of the Lexington 04 district, where 100% of students receive free or reduced lunch.

This school faces significant challenges, with academic performance below state averages across all subjects. The most recent data shows a sharp decline, with the school dropping from the 28th to the 12th percentile statewide. For example, 3rd-grade math proficiency fell from 46.2% to 35.1% in just one year. A major concern is chronic absenteeism—while it has improved from a peak of 51.6%, nearly 29% of students still miss substantial school time, which is higher than the state average of 22.3%. This attendance issue isn't isolated; it starts early in the district, with the Lexington Four Early Childhood Center showing an even higher rate of 43.6%. Interestingly, the school's scores mirror the district average exactly, suggesting these are systemic challenges rather than school-specific problems.

When compared to nearby schools, the differences are stark. Schools in the neighboring Lexington 01 district, like Saxe Gotha Elementary and South Lake Elementary, consistently outperform Sandhills by wide margins—for instance, 3rd-grade ELA proficiency at South Lake was 67.9% compared to Sandhills' 42.6%. However, there is a bright spot: the school serves its disabled students relatively well, ranking in the 38th percentile, which is its highest subgroup performance. This shows that targeted support can work and provides a potential model for improvement. For parents, the key takeaway is that attendance is critical, and while the school faces real hurdles, there are pockets of success to build upon.