Bethune-Bowman Elementary

Set in Rowesville, South Carolina, Bethune-Bowman Elementary is a small elementary campus, run under Orangeburg. It caters to 259 students across grades pre-K through 5. By comparison, South Carolina's public schools average about 526 students each, so Bethune-Bowman Elementary sits 51% below that benchmark.

Across the 27 schools in Orangeburg (10,462 students total), Bethune-Bowman Elementary accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On the student-mix side, Bethune-Bowman Elementary shows that 85% of students identify as Black, making the school strongly Black-majority. Other groups include 12% Hispanic, 2% multiracial. That is meaningfully more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 61%.

In terms of school funding signals, On paper, Bethune-Bowman Elementary has 19 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 14.0:1. That tracks the state average closely.

In the broader community, Orangeburg County reports that median household earnings sit near $45,675, about 19% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and roughly 16% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Orangeburg County runs 34 public schools (combined enrollment of about 11,507 students), of which Bethune-Bowman Elementary is one.

Nearest neighbor: Bethune-Bowman Middle/High, around 0.0 miles off. Within five miles, there are 2 other public schools.

The campus sits in an outlying setting.

In the discussion threads here, recent activity here tends to focus on sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.