H. B. Rhame Elementary

H. B. Rhame Elementary operates as a compact elementary-level community in Columbia, South Carolina, overseen by Richland 01. Current enrollment sits at 418 students spanning grades pre-K through 5. Enrollment runs roughly 21% leaner than the state mean of about 526.

H. B. Rhame Elementary is one of 47 schools operated by Richland 01, a district that hosts 21,814 students overall.

Looking at the student body, H. B. Rhame Elementary records that 87% of students identify as Black, making the school strongly Black-majority. The remainder consists of 5% multiracial, 5% Hispanic, 4% White. By comparison, Richland County as a whole is about 47% Black, so the school skews meaningfully more Black than its surroundings.

In terms of school funding signals, Staff filings list 30 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 13.9:1 students per teacher. That tracks the state average closely.

In the broader community, 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 census figures put the poverty rate at about 12%. H. B. Rhame Elementary is one of 104 public schools in Richland County (combined enrollment of about 60,410 students).

The closest other public school is St. Andrews Middle, roughly 0.1 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around H. B. Rhame Elementary.

The campus sits in a downtown setting.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count ticked down 6%: 446 students in 2018 compared to 418 in 2025.

On this page, members of the H. B. Rhame Elementary community share and discuss classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.