Summary:
Zip code 29440 in Georgetown, SC, is home to 6 elementary schools serving grades PK-5 within the Georgetown 01 school district, a district that ranks in the 32nd percentile statewide with a 2-star rating.
For parents exploring this area, Kensington Elementary is the clear standout, ranking 370th out of 649 schools (43rd percentile) and achieving a 73.3% 5th-grade ELA proficiency rate—nearly 10 points above the state average. It also shows strong year-over-year improvement in 5th-grade math, jumping from 47.6% to 59.2%. At the other end of the spectrum, Plantersville Elementary Digital Immersion School spends a remarkable $32,548 per student (more than double Kensington's $15,355) yet has no recent test score data and the highest chronic absenteeism rate at 28.1%. Brown's Ferry Elementary School for the Creative and Performing Arts showed the most improvement, moving from the 6th to 11th percentile, while Sampit Elementary (4th percentile) and Maryville Elementary (8th percentile) remain in the bottom quartile. McDonald Elementary sits in the 20th percentile.
The most striking takeaway is that spending does not correlate with performance—the highest-spending schools have the worst outcomes, while Kensington achieves the best results with the lowest per-student cost. Math proficiency lags significantly behind ELA across nearly all schools, with gaps as large as 22 points at Brown's Ferry. Chronic absenteeism is a district-wide concern, with Plantersville's 28.1% rate meaning nearly 1 in 3 students is chronically absent. Test scores also show dramatic year-to-year volatility, such as Sampit's 3rd-grade math swinging from 10.2% to 48.4% proficiency. While the overall picture is challenging, Kensington's success—particularly in 5th grade—offers a potential model for improvement across the district.
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