Bells Elementary

Bells Elementary operates as a modestly sized elementary school in Ruffin, South Carolina, one of the schools within Colleton 01. Current enrollment sits at 249 students spanning grades pre-K through 5. That puts it 53% smaller than the typical public school in South Carolina, which averages around 526 students.

Within Colleton 01, which oversees 8 schools and 4,539 students, Bells Elementary is one campus in the system.

Demographically, Bells Elementary shows that 45% of students identify as White, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. Other groups include 41% Black, 10% Hispanic, 4% multiracial. By comparison, Colleton County as a whole is about 57% White, so the school skews considerably less White than its surroundings.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 21 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 11.9:1 students per teacher. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 13.3:1 average.

Around the school, community-level numbers for Colleton County indicate the typical household earns roughly $51,114 per year, about 17% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 17%. Bells Elementary is one of 9 public schools in Colleton County (combined enrollment of about 4,539 students).

Nearest neighbor: Forest Hills Elementary, around 11.0 miles off.

The campus sits in a low-density setting.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Bells Elementary has fell 25%, going from 330 students in 2018 to 249 in 2025. Hispanic enrollment moved from 21% to 10% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio tightened from 15.0:1 in 2018 to 11.9:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, members of the Bells Elementary community share and discuss school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. The community welcomes input from current and former families.