Summary:
Zip code 29107 in Neeses, South Carolina, is served by two public schools—Hunter-Kinard-Tyler High (grades 6-12) and Hunter-Kinard-Tyler Elementary (grades PK-5)—which together enroll 399 students and share a single campus within the Orangeburg school district, a district currently ranked in the bottom 16% of the state.
These schools tell two different stories. The elementary school has made a remarkable turnaround, jumping from the absolute bottom of state rankings (0th percentile in 2023-2024) to the 10th-12th percentile in recent years, with 3rd grade ELA proficiency improving by 18 points to 53.8%. However, the high school has slipped to the 3rd percentile statewide, despite some notable bright spots. Its English 2 EOCEP scores (71.4% proficient) nearly match the district average, and its dropout rate of just 0.8% is less than half the state average—a sign that students are staying in school. The most glaring weakness is math: 6th grade math proficiency sits at just 9.1%, and 8th grade math (28.1%) trails ELA (53.2%) by 25 points. A dramatic anomaly appears in U.S. History EOCEP scores, which plummeted from 38.2% to 7.1% proficiency in one year—a swing that warrants investigation.
Both schools face significant challenges with chronic absenteeism (29.9% at the high school, 25.4% at the elementary, versus a 22.3% state average), yet they invest heavily in students, spending $19,181 and $17,684 per student respectively with favorable student-teacher ratios. The graduation rate of 79.4% trails the state's 86.7% but is close to the district's 80.4%. For parents, the elementary school's upward trajectory and the high school's strong ELA performance and student retention offer genuine reasons for optimism, even as math instruction and attendance remain critical areas needing focused attention.
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