Summary:
Zip code 29154 in Sumter, SC, is served by six schools in the Sumter 01 district, including four elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school, with a total enrollment of nearly 5,000 students.
For parents, the standout school in this area is Kingsbury Elementary, which is the highest-performing school and shows the most promising upward trend, climbing 84 positions in the state rankings over two years. It leads the elementary schools in ELA and science proficiency, and it boasts the lowest student-teacher ratio at 13.5:1. In contrast, Cherryvale Elementary is the lowest-performing school, with only 12.3% of 5th graders proficient in math and a chronic absenteeism rate of 43%, nearly double the state average. At the secondary level, Sumter High School shows a bright spot with a 73.5% proficiency rate in English 2 and a graduation rate of 83.6%, while Furman Middle struggles with the highest chronic absenteeism in the zip code at 44.6%.
The most urgent issue across all schools is chronic absenteeism, as every school exceeds the state rate of 22.3%, and mathematics proficiency is alarmingly low, with a clear drop-off between elementary and middle school. Interestingly, Oakland Primary spends the most per student ($19,352) but serves only PK-1st grade, so its academic impact is not yet measurable. While the district ranks in the bottom 15% of South Carolina, Kingsbury's success suggests that smaller class sizes and targeted instruction can make a difference, offering a model for improvement that the district could replicate.
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