Schools in Zip Code 29624

Zip code 29624 in Anderson, South Carolina, is served by four public schools—two elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school—spanning the Anderson 03 and Anderson 05 districts, offering a mix of traditional, magnet, and charter options for families.

The clear standout is Southwood Academy for the Arts, a magnet middle school that consistently ranks in the top 5% of all middle schools in South Carolina, placing 11th, 14th, and 13th in the state over the past three years. Its academic performance is exceptional, with 8th-grade ELA proficiency at 89.6% and math at 85.4%—far outpacing district and state averages—and it also boasts a near-perfect Algebra 1 pass rate. This school spends significantly more per student ($20,140) than its peers and maintains a low 11.9:1 student-teacher ratio. In contrast, Anderson Five Charter School, a tiny high school with just 61 students, excels in student outcomes with a 95.5% graduation rate and a 0% dropout rate, supported by an incredibly personalized 3.1:1 student-teacher ratio. Flat Rock Elementary performs above state averages in most subjects, such as 60.3% proficiency in 4th-grade math versus the state's 52.3%, though it trails its own district's averages.

Chronic absenteeism is a significant concern at Homeland Park Primary (35.2%) and Anderson Five Charter (32.9%), both well above the state average of 22.3%, while Southwood Academy keeps its rate low at 16.0%. Notably, the two highest-absenteeism schools are in the same district as the highest-achieving school, showing that attendance challenges do not uniformly impact outcomes. Homeland Park Primary lacks recent test data, with its last ranking from 2011-2012 placing it in the bottom 10%, making its current academic standing unclear. Meanwhile, Flat Rock Elementary has shown a slight downward trend in its state ranking over three years, moving from the 71st to the 62nd percentile, which may warrant monitoring.