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Alumni: what's one memory from Thomas C. Cario Middle that still sticks with you?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,105
Middle
DISTRICT 719 · STATE 622
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CHARLESTON 01·NCES 450144000430
Thomas C. Cario Middle
3500 Thomas Cario Boulevard, Mt. Pleasant, SC 29466 · (843) 856-4595 · Charleston County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL1,105 STUDENTS
A+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 99% of South Carolina public middle schools
- A+Test 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 middle schools
Student : Teacher
17.0:1
65 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.5:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
,
Title I proxy
DISTRICT 100% · STATE 77%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 341 | 31% |
| Grade 7 | 391 | 35% |
| Grade 8 | 373 | 34% |
Student demographics
30%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 65% · 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
84.7%
SC avg 59.7% . -1.5pp since 2023
Math
77.2%
SC avg 44.2% . -0.1pp since 2023
What this means: On the SC READY, South Carolina's statewide test, about 85 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 77 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all South Carolina schools, those numbers are about 60 and 44. Reading and writing scores are down about 2 points since 2023, while math scores have held steady.
SC READY results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 84.7% | 77.2% |
| 2023-24 | 86.2% | 77.3% |
% Meets or Exceeds Expectations, all students and all tested grades.
Source: SC READY. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
Where Thomas C. Cario Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In South Carolina | In Charleston County |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 77.2% | #3 of 249 ▼ 1 | #2 of 12 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 84.7% | #7 of 249 ▼ 4 | #3 of 12 ▼ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,105 | #14 of 256 | #3 of 12 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.0:1 | #225 of 241 | #10 of 11 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 29.9% | #227 of 241 | #10 of 11 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -7.4% | #98 of 137 | #7 of 8 |
Ranked against other public middle 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
1,105
-36 (-3%) vs 2020
+74% since 2000-01, when it was 634
Student : Teacher
17.0:1
was 17.8:1
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 | 1,105 | 65 | 17.0:1 | N/A |
| 2023-24 | 1,130 | 62 | 18.2:1 | 14% (161) |
| 2022-23 | 1,125 | 63 | 17.9:1 | 15% (166) |
| 2020-21 | 1,141 | 64 | 17.8:1 | 9% (97) |
| 2017-18 | 1,193 | 66.8 | 17.9:1 | 9% (112) |
| 2015-16 | 1,237 | 81 | 15.3:1 | 10% (121) |
| 2010-11 | 1,284 | 69 | 18.6:1 | 18% (225) |
| 2000-01 | 634 | 35 | 18.1:1 | 23% (144) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Thomas C. Cario Middle.
Since 2017-18: students down 7% (1,193 to 1,105); teachers down 3% (66.8 to 65).
About Thomas C. Cario Middle
A high-enrollment middle school in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, Thomas C. Cario Middle is part of Charleston 01. The latest federal count shows 1,105 students in grades 6 through 8. The average for middle schools in South Carolina is about 622 students, so this school is 78% bigger than average.
Charleston 01 operates 81 schools. Combined enrollment is 52,009 students.
White students make up 83% of enrollment at Thomas C. Cario Middle. The remaining shares are 6% Hispanic, 4% Black, 4% multiracial, and 2% Asian. Census estimates put the White share of Charleston County's population at about 66%. Pick two students at random and there is a 30% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
Teachers at the school number 65 full-time equivalents, and the ratio is 17.0:1. This ratio sits 3.2 above the 13.8:1 average for middle schools in South Carolina.
Measured against South Carolina public middle schools, Thomas C. Cario Middle receives an A+. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
Charleston County census figures show that the median household income is $88,494, 50% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 7% of people live in poverty. There are 98 public schools in Charleston County, enrolling about 55,933 students in all.
The next-closest public school is Charles Pinckney Elementary, about 0.2 miles away. Thomas C. Cario Middle is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles.
By NCES locale, the school is Suburb: Large, or in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
Enrollment declined 3% from its 2020-21 level of 1,141.
The Thomas C. Cario Middle community page is open for posts about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Charleston County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
420,264
Census ACS
Median income
$88,494
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
50%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
98
55,933 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Charleston 01
- Wando HighHigh · 2,588 students
- R. B. Stall HighHigh · 2,135 students
- West Ashley HighHigh · 2,069 students
- Lucy Garrett Beckham HighHigh · 1,757 students
- James Island Charter HighHigh · 1,612 students
- C. E. Williams Middle School for Creative and Scientific ArtMiddle · 1,299 students
Other schools in Mt. Pleasant
- Lucy Garrett Beckham HighHigh · 1,757 students
- Jennie Moore ElementaryElementary · 993 students
- Carolina Park ElementaryElementary · 931 students
- James B. Edwards ElementaryElementary · 767 students
- Mamie P. Whitesides ElementaryElementary · 767 students
- Laurel Hill PrimaryElementary · 691 students
Nearby schools
- Charles Pinckney Elementary0.2 mi · 644
- Laurel Hill Primary0.3 mi · 691
- Oceanside Collegiate Academy1.3 mi · 653
- Oceanside Collegiate Academy1.3 mi · 623
- Carolina Park Elementary1.7 mi · 931
- Wando High1.7 mi · 2,588
Frequently asked questions
About Thomas C. Cario MiddleHow large is Thomas C. Cario Middle?
Thomas C. Cario Middle enrolls approximately 1,105 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does Thomas C. Cario Middle serve?
Thomas C. Cario Middle serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
How many students per teacher at Thomas C. Cario Middle?
Approximately 17.0:1 students per teacher at Thomas C. Cario Middle.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Thomas C. Cario Middle?
At Thomas C. Cario Middle, the student body is approximately 83% White, 6% Hispanic, 4% Black, 2% Asian, 4% Two or more.
What district is Thomas C. Cario Middle in?
Thomas C. Cario Middle is part of Charleston 01.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.