B. D. Lee Elementary

As a mid-tier elementary campus in Gaffney, South Carolina, B. D. Lee Elementary enrolls 603 students from grades pre-K through 5, part of Cherokee 01.

Cherokee 01 runs 14 schools in total, collectively educating 7,525 students. B. D. Lee Elementary is one of those campuses.

Looking at the student body, B. D. Lee Elementary reports that 65% of the student body identifies as Black; the rest reads as 19% White, 9% Hispanic, 5% multiracial. By comparison, Cherokee County as a whole is about 19% Black, so the school skews visibly more Black than its surroundings.

Looking at the economic backdrop, B. D. Lee Elementary records 40 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 15.2:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 13.3:1 average.

In the broader community, the surrounding county (Cherokee County) logs that median household earnings sit near $50,288, roughly 18% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 12%. B. D. Lee Elementary is one of 17 public schools in Cherokee County (combined enrollment of about 8,402 students).

The closest other public school is Gaffney High, roughly 1.4 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around B. D. Lee Elementary.

The campus sits in a small-town setting.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count climbed 73%: 348 students in 2018 compared to 603 in 2025. Black enrollment moved from 76% to 65% across the same window. Class-load math has loosened: from 13.5:1 in 2018 to 15.2:1 in 2025.

On allk12, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around pickup logistics, teacher feedback, and after-school programs. The community welcomes input from current and former families.