Summary:
Middle Schools in zip code 29379 consist of a single school, Sims Middle, serving grades 6-8 in Union, SC, within the Union 01 school district, which ranks in the bottom 15% of South Carolina districts.
Sims Middle is a school of striking contrasts. The most impressive highlight is its advanced math program: 100% of students who took the Algebra 1 End-of-Course exam in 2024-2025 were proficient, far exceeding the district (67.5%) and state (74%) averages. However, this excellence does not extend to the general student body. On the SC READY tests, proficiency rates in math range from 31% to 35% across grades 6-8, and English Language Arts proficiency sits between 37% and 49%—all below state averages. The school does outperform its district average in math at every grade level, suggesting some relative strength within a challenging local context. The school invests heavily in its students, spending $13,853 per pupil and maintaining a favorable 10.9:1 student-teacher ratio, which should support individualized attention.
The biggest red flag is chronic absenteeism: 33.7% of students are chronically absent, compared to roughly 22% for both the district and state. This means one in three students misses significant instructional time, which very likely undermines the school's resource investments and explains why overall proficiency lags state benchmarks. State rankings have also slipped slightly, from the 32nd percentile in 2024-2025 to the 26th percentile in 2025-2026. For parents, this school offers a proven pathway for high-achieving math students, but the broader student population faces real challenges tied to attendance. The school's success will depend heavily on addressing its attendance crisis so that all students can benefit from the strong per-pupil spending and small class sizes.
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