Heyward Gibbes Middle

As an intimate middle-grades school in Columbia, South Carolina, Heyward Gibbes Middle serves 252 students from grades 6 through 8, part of Richland 01. Compared to the state average of about 622 students per school, that is 59% below typical.

Richland 01 runs 47 schools in total, collectively educating 21,814 students. Heyward Gibbes Middle is one of those campuses.

On the student-mix side, Heyward Gibbes Middle reports that nearly all students (90%) are Black; the rest breaks down as 5% Hispanic, 3% multiracial. That is considerably more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 47%.

In terms of school funding signals, Staff filings list 26 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 9.9:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 13.8:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical.

Zooming out to the county, community-level numbers for Richland County indicate median household earnings sit near $63,784, roughly 41% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 12% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Richland County's 104 public schools (combined enrollment of about 60,410 students), Heyward Gibbes Middle is one campus in the mix.

Edward E. Taylor Elementary is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.5 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius.

The campus sits in a high-density setting.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count fell 31%: 366 students in 2018 compared to 252 in 2025. The Black share of enrollment contracted from 95% to 90% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio tightened from 12.6:1 in 2018 to 9.9:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Members of the school community can share what they know.