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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Forest Lake Elementary?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
652
Elementary
DISTRICT 697 · STATE 526
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·RICHLAND 02·NCES 450339000969
Forest Lake Elementary
6801 Brookfield Road, Columbia, SC 29206 · (803) 782-0470 · Richland County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL652 STUDENTS
B
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 56% of South Carolina public elementary schools
- BTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ·Beats expectations Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded South Carolina public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
13.2:1
49 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.0:1 · 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 | 41 | 6% |
| Kindergarten | 78 | 12% |
| Grade 1 | 98 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 114 | 17% |
| Grade 3 | 108 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 105 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 108 | 17% |
This year's kindergarten class (78) is 28% smaller than its 5th grade class (108).
Student demographics
62%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 56% · 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
60.0%
SC avg 59.7% . +4.9pp since 2023
Math
54.4%
SC avg 44.2% . +4.2pp since 2023
What this means: On the SC READY, South Carolina's statewide test, about 60 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 54 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 5 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 4 points.
SC READY results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 60.0% | 54.4% |
| 2023-24 | 55.1% | 50.2% |
% Meets or Exceeds Expectations, all students and all tested grades.
Source: SC READY. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
Where Forest Lake Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In South Carolina | In Richland County |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 54.4% | #261 of 635 ▲ 23 | #16 of 57 ▲ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 60.0% | #318 of 635 ▼ 36 | #19 of 57 ▼ 3 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 652 | #188 of 709 | #15 of 59 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.2:1 | #288 of 656 | #33 of 57 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 62.3% | #225 of 656 | #8 of 57 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +8.5% | #108 of 187 | #9 of 15 |
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. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
652
+49 (+8%) vs 2020
+3% since 1990-91, when it was 632
Student : Teacher
13.2:1
was 12.3:1
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 | 652 | 49.3 | 13.2:1 | N/A |
| 2023-24 | 638 | 48.2 | 13.2:1 | 61% (389) |
| 2022-23 | 614 | 49 | 12.5:1 | 70% (432) |
| 2020-21 | 603 | 49 | 12.3:1 | 59% (356) |
| 2017-18 | 601 | 44.2 | 13.6:1 | 57% (344) |
| 2015-16 | 567 | 46 | 12.3:1 | 56% (317) |
| 2010-11 | 587 | 42 | 14.0:1 | 52% (303) |
| 2000-01 | 624 | 48 | 13.0:1 | 40% (247) |
| 1990-91 | 632 | 36 | 17.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Forest Lake Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 8% (601 to 652); teachers up 12% (44.2 to 49.3).
About Forest Lake Elementary
Forest Lake Elementary is a medium-sized elementary school serving families in Columbia, South Carolina. It educates 652 students in pre-K through 5. The typical figure for elementary schools in South Carolina is about 526 students.
Richland 02 serves 28,841 students across 32 schools.
Forest Lake Elementary is 56% Black by enrollment. The remaining students are 18% Hispanic, 17% White, 6% multiracial, and 3% Asian. Among people living in Richland County, the Black share is about 47%. Forest Lake Elementary's diversity index is 62%, against a US figure of 70%.
Forest Lake Elementary operates with 49.3 full-time-equivalent teachers, a ratio of about 13.2:1. For comparison, elementary schools in South Carolina average 13.3:1.
The allk12 Grade for Forest Lake Elementary is B. Compared with South Carolina public elementary schools, the school scored higher than 56% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Among Richland County residents, the median household income is $63,784, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 41%, and roughly 12% of residents are in poverty. Besides Forest Lake Elementary, Richland County has 103 other public schools.
The school nearest to Forest Lake Elementary is Dent Middle, at a distance of about 0.8 miles. Other public schools within five miles number at least 8.
Its NCES locale code is Suburb: Large: the school is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
Federal data show an 8% enrollment increase, from 603 in 2020-21 to 652 in 2024-25.
Questions about school safety, transportation, and start times can be posted here. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Richland County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
422,117
Census ACS
Median income
$63,784
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
41%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
12%
Below federal line
Schools in county
104
60,410 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Richland 02
- Spring Valley HighHigh · 2,230 students
- Blythewood HighHigh · 2,164 students
- Westwood HighHigh · 1,743 students
- Ridge View HighHigh · 1,631 students
- Richland Northeast HighHigh · 1,340 students
- E. L. Wright MiddleElementary · 1,275 students
Other schools in Columbia
- SC Connections AcademyCombined · 6,152 students
- Spring Valley HighHigh · 2,230 students
- Carolus Online AcademyCombined · 1,786 students
- Ridge View HighHigh · 1,631 students
- Richland Northeast HighHigh · 1,340 students
- A. C. Flora HighHigh · 1,328 students
Other Forest Lake Elementary schools
2 other US public schools in 3 states are named Forest Lake Elementary. Forest Lake Elementary is the largest of the 3.
- FOREST LAKE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLDELTONA, FL · 571 students
- Forest Lake ElementaryFOREST LAKE, MN · 309 students
Nearby schools
- Dent Middle0.8 mi · 1,059
- Richland Northeast High0.8 mi · 1,340
- Jackson Creek Elementary0.9 mi · 551
- L. W. Conder Elementary1.4 mi · 489
- Satchel Ford Elementary1.7 mi · 721
- Joseph Keels Elementary1.8 mi · 465
Frequently asked questions
About Forest Lake ElementaryHow many students attend Forest Lake Elementary?
Forest Lake Elementary enrolls approximately 652 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does Forest Lake Elementary serve?
Forest Lake Elementary serves grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Forest Lake Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Forest Lake Elementary is approximately 13.2:1 (49 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Forest Lake Elementary?
At Forest Lake Elementary, the student body is approximately 17% White, 18% Hispanic, 56% Black, 3% Asian, 6% Two or more.
Who oversees Forest Lake Elementary?
Forest Lake Elementary is overseen by Richland 02 in Richland County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.