Quick Answers

Students

South Carolina:  785,000     Greenville County Schools:  78,000

2023 figures.
(Go to “The Data” and then “Students” to find numbers for other school districts and schools in the state.)

South Carolina:  62%     Greenville County Schools:  56%

Student Poverty Index*, 2023 data.
(Go to “The Data” and then “Students” to find percentages for other school districts and schools in the state.)

*The percentage of students who are transient, a runaway, in foster care, homeless, or have been Medicaid-eligible or qualified for SNAP or TANF services within the last three years. (SC Education Oversight Committee)  [SNAP: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; TANF: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.]

South Carolina:  15%     Greenville County Schools:  17%

2023 figures.
(Go to “The Data” and then “Students” to find percentages for other school districts and schools in the state.)

South Carolina:  15%     Greenville County Schools:  17%

2023 figures.
(Go to “The Data” and then “Students” to find percentages for other school districts and schools in the state.)

                                                                 South Carolina    Greenville County Schools
Asian American Students                                  2%                                  2%
Black or African American Students              32%                                22%
Hispanic or Latino Students                             13%                                20%
White Students                                                  48%                                50%
Two or More Races Students                            6%                                  5%
Other Students*                                                  1%                                  1%

2023 figures.
(Go to “The Data” and then “Students” to find percentages for other school districts and schools in the state.)
*American Indian and Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

Total Public Schools:  89% (84% in regular districts and 5% in charter districts)     
Total Private Schooling:  10% 
(6% in private schools and 4% homeschooled)
Dropouts:  1%

2023 figures from the SC Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office.

Teachers

South Carolina:  47,600  Greenville County Schools:  4,600

2023 numbers in full-time equivalents (FTEs).
(Go to “The Data” and then “Teachers” to find numbers for other school districts and schools in the state.)

South Carolina:  11    Greenville County Schools:  12

2023 figures.
(Go to “The Data” and then “Teachers” to find numbers for other school districts and schools in the state.)

South Carolina:  12%    Greenville County Schools:  13%

2023 figures.
(Go to “The Data” and then “Teachers” to find figures for other school districts and schools in the state.)

From a 2023 national survey, teachers on average work 53 hours per week during the school year  (7 more hours per week on average than working adults as a whole).  Of the surveyed teachers, nearly half said they work more than 50 hours per week, and 16% said they work more than 60 hours per week. 

– Steiner, E., et al., “All Work and No Pay — Teachers’ Perceptions of Their Pay and Hours Worked: Findings from the 2023 State of the American Teacher Survey,” RAND Corporation, 2023.

During the 2019-20 school year, South Carolina teachers on average spent $440 of their own money on classroom supplies that wasn’t reimbursed.  This amount is above the $275 the state provided to each teacher that year for school supplies.   For the 2023-24 school year the state provided $350 to each teacher for these supplies.

– Garcia, E. et al., “Underpaid and Undersupplied: The Hidden Costs of Teaching in America,” Learning Policy Institute, 2023; and “General Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2023-2024,” South Carolina General Assembly.

In 2023, the median school district teacher turnover rate in South Carolina was 14%.

(Go to “The Data” and then “Teachers” to find rates for individual school districts and schools in the state.)

In the fall of the 2023-24 school year, 16% of open teaching positions in the state had not yet been filled – a rate more than three times what it was ten years earlier.  During the 2022-23 school year, 16% of teachers were teaching out of field in core classes (math, English, and science) in order to fill classroom positions.

(Go to “The Data” and then “Teachers” to find figures for school districts and schools in the state.  Read more about the teacher shortage in “What’s Trending”)

                                                         South Carolina          Greenville County Schools
                                                      Students  Teachers             Students  Teachers
Asian American                                 2%            2%                       2%             1%
Black or African American             32%          16%                     22%             7%
Hispanic or Latino                            13%            2%                     20%             3%
White                                                 48%          78%                     50%           86%
Two or More Races                           6%            0%                      5%              0%
Other*                                                 1%            2%                      1%              3%

2023 figures.
(Go to “The Data” and then “Teachers” to find how the percentages match up for other school districts and schools in the state.)
*American Indian, Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and not reported.

Achievement

The StriveTogether Cradle-to-Career Network uses these seven measures:

– Kindergarten Readiness
– Early Grade Reading – third grade
– Middle Grade Math – eighth grade
– High School Graduation
– Postsecondary Enrollment
– Postsecondary Completion
– Employment

Currently, data on the first five can be found in, or accessed through, this website.  Also see below.

South Carolina:  38%     Greenville County Schools:  43%

Percentage meeting “Overall Readiness” on the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA) in the 2022-23 school year.
(Go to “The Data” and then “Achievement” to find percentages for other school districts and elementary schools in the state.)

South Carolina:  54%     Greenville County Schools:  63%

Percent meeting or exceeding expectations in English language arts on the 2023 SC READY assessment.
(Go to “The Data” and then “Achievement” to find percentages for other school districts and elementary schools in the state.)

South Carolina:  32%     Greenville County Schools:  39%

Percent meeting or exceeding expectations in math on the 2023 SC READY assessment.
(Go to “The Data” and then “Achievement” to find percentages for other school districts and middle schools in the state.)

South Carolina:  84%     Greenville County Schools:  85%

The four-year, on-time graduation rate for 2022-23 from the SC School Report Cards.
(Go to “The Data” and then “Achievement” to find percentages for other school districts and middle schools in the state.)

South Carolina:  59%     Greenville County Schools:  63%

(Go to “The Data” and then “Achievement” and ‘Post-Secondary Advancement” to access the SC.GOV “Post-Grad Dashboard”)