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How has B. D. Lee Elementary changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
603
Elementary
DISTRICT 402 · STATE 526
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CHEROKEE 01·NCES 450150000278
B. D. Lee Elementary
401 Overbrook Drive, Gaffney, SC 29341 · (864) 206-6432 · Cherokee County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY32-TOWNREGULAR SCHOOL603 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
15.2:1
40 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.9:1 · STATE 13.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
,
Title I proxy
STATE 77%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 123 | 20% |
| Kindergarten | 92 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 82 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 78 | 13% |
| Grade 3 | 88 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 74 | 12% |
| Grade 5 | 66 | 11% |
Student demographics
53%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 59% · STATE 67% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
SC READY 2024-25 . % Meets or Exceeds ExpectationsEnglish Language Arts
34.0%
SC avg 59.7% . +11.6pp since 2023
Math
22.7%
SC avg 44.2% . +5.7pp since 2023
What this means: On the SC READY, South Carolina's statewide test, about 34 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 23 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all South Carolina schools, those numbers are about 60 and 44. Reading and writing scores are up about 12 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 6 points.
SC READY results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 34.0% | 22.7% |
| 2023-24 | 22.4% | 17.0% |
% Meets or Exceeds Expectations, all students and all tested grades.
Source: SC READY. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
Where B. D. Lee Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In South Carolina | In Cherokee County |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 22.7% | #610 of 635 | #8 of 9 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 34.0% | #610 of 635 | #8 of 9 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 603 | #238 of 709 | #1 of 10 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.2:1 | #509 of 656 | #8 of 10 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 52.8% | #416 of 656 | #5 of 10 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +73.3% | #5 of 187 | N/A |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
603
+263 (+77%) vs 2020
+23% since 1990-91, when it was 490
Student : Teacher
15.2:1
was 12.6:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 603 | 39.8 | 15.2:1 | N/A |
| 2023-24 | 617 | 42.8 | 14.4:1 | 100% (617) |
| 2022-23 | 607 | 41.8 | 14.5:1 | 100% (607) |
| 2020-21 | 340 | 27 | 12.6:1 | 100% (340) |
| 2017-18 | 348 | 25.7 | 13.5:1 | 100% (348) |
| 2015-16 | 320 | 23 | 13.9:1 | 100% (320) |
| 2010-11 | 401 | 24 | 16.7:1 | 91% (366) |
| 2000-01 | 438 | 27 | 16.2:1 | 58% (256) |
| 1990-91 | 490 | 30 | 16.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for B. D. Lee Elementary.
About B. D. Lee Elementary
B. D. Lee Elementary is an elementary school located in Gaffney, South Carolina, in Cherokee County. Enrollment is 603 students in 2024-25, and the school serves pre-K through 5.
Across its 14 schools, Cherokee 01 enrolls 7,525 students. B. D. Lee Elementary is one of those schools.
B. D. Lee Elementary's enrollment is 65% Black. Other groups make up 19% White, 9% Hispanic, and 5% multiracial. County-wide, 19% of Cherokee County residents are Black. B. D. Lee Elementary has a diversity index of 53%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
B. D. Lee Elementary operates with 39.8 full-time-equivalent teachers, a ratio of about 15.2:1. For comparison, elementary schools in South Carolina average 13.3:1.
Among Cherokee County residents, median household income is about $50,288, roughly 18% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 12% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Federal data list 17 public schools in Cherokee County, with a combined enrollment of about 8,402.
The closest public school, Gaffney High, is about 1.4 miles from B. D. Lee Elementary. Around the school, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles.
Under the NCES locale system, B. D. Lee Elementary is Town: Distant.
Federal records list enrollment at B. D. Lee Elementary as 340 in 2020-21 and 603 in 2024-25. A change that size can reflect a shift in the grades the school serves as well as a change in students. Its ratio of students to teachers was 12.6:1 in 2020-21, and 15.2:1 in 2024-25.
Topics for discussion here include sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Cherokee County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
56,647
Census ACS
Median income
$50,288
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
18%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
12%
Below federal line
Schools in county
17
8,402 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Cherokee 01
- Gaffney HighHigh · 1,827 students
- Gaffney MiddleMiddle · 851 students
- Grassy Pond ElementaryElementary · 519 students
- Blacksburg HighHigh · 482 students
- Limestone-Central ElementaryElementary · 436 students
- Northwest ElementaryElementary · 423 students
Other schools in Gaffney
- Gaffney HighHigh · 1,827 students
- Gaffney MiddleMiddle · 851 students
- Cherokee Charter AcademyCombined · 633 students
- Grassy Pond ElementaryElementary · 519 students
- Limestone-Central ElementaryElementary · 436 students
- Northwest ElementaryElementary · 423 students
Nearby schools
- Gaffney High1.4 mi · 1,827
- Gaffney Middle1.4 mi · 851
- Luther L. Vaughan Elementary1.9 mi · 399
- Limestone-Central Elementary2.0 mi · 436
- John E. Ewing Middle2.3 mi · 380
- Cherokee Charter Academy3.3 mi · 633
Frequently asked questions
About B. D. Lee ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at B. D. Lee Elementary?
B. D. Lee Elementary enrolls approximately 603 students in grades PK-05.
Is B. D. Lee Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
B. D. Lee Elementary is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
How many teachers does B. D. Lee Elementary have?
B. D. Lee Elementary employs 40 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 15.2:1.
How diverse is B. D. Lee Elementary?
B. D. Lee Elementary reports a student body of 19% White, 9% Hispanic, 65% Black, 2% Asian, 5% Two or more.
Who oversees B. D. Lee Elementary?
B. D. Lee Elementary is overseen by Cherokee 01 in Cherokee County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.