Alston-Bailey Elementary

Located at 820 West 5th North Street, in Summerville, South Carolina, Alston-Bailey Elementary is an average-sized K-5 school that works with 646 students (grades pre-K through 5), one of the schools within Dorchester 02. By comparison, South Carolina's public schools average about 526 students each, so Alston-Bailey Elementary sits 23% bigger than that benchmark.

Alston-Bailey Elementary is one of 25 schools operated by Dorchester 02, a district that educates 25,928 students overall.

On the student-mix side, Alston-Bailey Elementary reports that 40% of students identify as Black, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. Other groups include 30% White, 18% Hispanic, 11% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 25% Black, putting the school's mix noticeably more Black than the area baseline.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Alston-Bailey Elementary lists 51 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 12.8:1. The state averages about 13.3:1, putting this campus right in line with peers.

Across the wider county, the surrounding county (Dorchester County) records that median household earnings sit near $78,198, roughly 30% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 8%. Across Dorchester County's 35 public schools (combined enrollment of about 29,832 students), Alston-Bailey Elementary is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: Alston Middle, around 0.2 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius.

The campus sits in an outer-ring setting.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count fell 25%: 862 students in 2018 compared to 646 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share edged down from 42% to 30%. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 15.7:1 in 2018 to 12.8:1 today.

On allk12, members of the Alston-Bailey Elementary community share and discuss pickup logistics, teacher feedback, and after-school programs. The community welcomes input from current and former families.