Summary:
Zip code 29178 is home to a single elementary school, Whitmire Community School (Elementary), a small, rural school serving grades PK through 5 with an enrollment of 250 students in the Newberry 01 district.
For parents considering this area, Whitmire Community School (Elementary) offers a mixed picture of academic performance. The school shows clear strengths in specific subjects and grade levels. In the 2024-2025 school year, 5th-grade English Language Arts proficiency was an impressive 75.7%, which was 22 points above the district average and 13 points above the state average. Similarly, 4th-grade math proficiency reached 65.3%, outpacing the district by nearly 16 points. Science scores in 4th grade also consistently beat both district and state averages. However, this success is not uniform. The most concerning trend is a sharp decline in math scores from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026, with 4th-grade math proficiency dropping from 65.3% to just 38.5%, falling well below state averages. This inconsistency suggests that academic strengths may be tied to specific teachers or grade-level strategies rather than a school-wide approach.
The school's overall state ranking has also slipped significantly, from the 68th percentile in 2023-2024 down to the 46th percentile in 2025-2026, despite test scores often being at or above state levels. This paradox indicates that the ranking may factor in other elements like student growth. A chronic absenteeism rate of 21.8% is a red flag, affecting over one in five students and likely contributing to inconsistent performance. On a positive note, the school benefits from a low student-teacher ratio of 12.6 and per-student spending of $14,884, showing a strong investment in resources. The challenge for the school appears to be translating these resources into consistent academic growth across all subjects and grade levels.
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