Summary:
Zip code 29302 in Spartanburg, SC, is home to four elementary schools serving grades PK-5 or PK-8, including two traditional public schools in the Spartanburg 07 district and two specialized state schools under the Deaf & Blind School district.
For parents, the standout choice in this area is Pine St. Elementary, which ranks in the top 6% of all South Carolina elementary schools (94th percentile, 5 stars). Its students dramatically outperform both district and state averages, with 84-85% proficiency in English Language Arts and 71-81% in math across grades 3-5. Chronic absenteeism is remarkably low at just 7.9%, far below the state average of 22.3%. In stark contrast, E. P. Todd School ranks in the bottom quartile (37th percentile, 2 stars) and struggles significantly, especially in math—only 25.1% of 4th graders and 32.4% of 5th graders are proficient. E.P. Todd also faces a chronic absenteeism crisis at 30.2%, nearly four times higher than Pine St. Despite nearly identical per-student spending ($15,117 vs. $15,492) and similar student-teacher ratios, Pine St. outperforms E.P. Todd by 30-46 percentage points in math and 15-28 points in ELA, highlighting that factors beyond funding drive these outcomes.
The two specialized schools, School School for the Deaf Elementary/Middle and School School for the Blind Elementary/Middle, serve very small populations (41 and 22 students) with intensive, individualized instruction reflected in extremely low student-teacher ratios (1.6:1 and 0.6:1). Their chronic absenteeism rates (18.0% and 9.1%) are below the state average, indicating strong engagement. These schools are not ranked on standard metrics, making direct comparisons inappropriate. Overall, this zip code offers a stark contrast between a top-performing school and a struggling one, with the specialized schools providing unique services for students with disabilities.
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