Summary:
In zip code 29135, there is exactly one public elementary school, St. Matthews K-8 School, which serves students from pre-kindergarten through 8th grade in the rural Calhoun 01 district, with a total enrollment of 509 students.
For parents considering this area, St. Matthews K-8 School is the only option, and it presents a mixed picture. The school spends a substantial $18,017 per student and maintains a favorable student-teacher ratio of 12.1 to 1, suggesting smaller class sizes and significant financial investment. However, academic outcomes are challenging. The school consistently ranks in the bottom 20th percentile of South Carolina elementary schools, with a ranking that has remained stable around 517th out of 649 schools. Chronic absenteeism affects 23.1% of students, which is slightly above the state average and a concern for learning continuity. The most striking finding is the gap between subjects: English Language Arts proficiency is generally in the 40-50% range, while math proficiency is critically low, especially in middle school grades where it drops to between 18% and 23%. This suggests a specific need for targeted math support.
There are a few notable takeaways for parents. First, there is a clear "middle school slide" – performance declines as students progress, with 3rd-grade ELA at 54.3% dropping to 36.9% by 5th grade, and math falling from 36.9% to 18.4% by 6th grade. Second, there is a bright spot in 4th-grade math, where proficiency reached 44.4%, significantly outperforming the district average of 33.3%, which may indicate an effective teaching strategy worth replicating. Finally, year-to-year scores are volatile, likely due to the small school size where a single cohort can dramatically swing results. While the school offers a unique K-8 structure and strong per-student funding, parents should be prepared for the academic challenges, particularly in mathematics, and consider how the school's resources translate into classroom support.
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