Brennen Elementary

Brennen Elementary is one of the heavily attended primary schools in Columbia, South Carolina, run under Richland 01, with 805 students on its rolls from grades pre-K through 5. Enrollment runs roughly 53% above the state mean of about 526.

Richland 01 comprises 47 schools with combined enrollment of 21,814 students; Brennen Elementary is among them.

On demographics, Brennen Elementary logs that the largest single group is White, at 58% of enrollment; the rest looks like 20% Black, 13% Hispanic, 8% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 40% White, putting the school's mix noticeably more White than the area baseline.

Looking at school resources, Brennen Elementary logs 57 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 14.3:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 13.3:1 average.

Around the school, census data for Richland County shows the typical household earns roughly $63,784 per year, roughly 41% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 12%. In all, Richland County runs 104 public schools (combined enrollment of about 60,410 students), of which Brennen Elementary is one.

The closest other public school is Richland One Charter Middle College, roughly 0.8 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Brennen Elementary.

The school occupies a downtown site.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count edged down 10%: 892 students in 2018 compared to 805 in 2025. Class-load math has fell: from 16.4:1 in 2018 to 14.3:1 in 2025.

On allk12, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. The community welcomes input from current and former families.