1
What tradition at Waterway Elementary should never be changed?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
912
Elementary
DISTRICT 745 · STATE 526
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·HORRY 01·NCES 450249000901
Waterway Elementary
700 Sandridge Road, Little River, SC 29566 · (843) 399-2204 · Horry County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL912 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 73% of South Carolina public elementary schools
- B+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 elementary schools
Student : Teacher
16.3:1
56 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.3:1 · 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 | 49 | 5% |
| Kindergarten | 137 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 145 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 130 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 152 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 139 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 160 | 18% |
This year's kindergarten class (137) is 14% smaller than its 5th grade class (160).
Student demographics
68%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 63% · 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
70.1%
SC avg 59.7% . +4.7pp since 2023
Math
59.5%
SC avg 44.2% . -0.3pp since 2023
What this means: On the SC READY, South Carolina's statewide test, about 70 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 60 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 have held steady.
SC READY results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 70.1% | 59.5% |
| 2023-24 | 65.4% | 59.8% |
% Meets or Exceeds Expectations, all students and all tested grades.
Source: SC READY. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
Where Waterway Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In South Carolina | In Horry County |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 59.5% | #195 of 635 ▼ 31 | #17 of 26 ▼ 4 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 70.1% | #187 of 635 ▼ 38 | #14 of 26 ▼ 2 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 912 | #47 of 709 | #8 of 30 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.3:1 | #600 of 656 | #26 of 28 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 68.0% | #102 of 656 | #7 of 28 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +36.1% | #27 of 187 | #2 of 14 |
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
912
+183 (+25%) vs 2020
+24% since 2010-11, when it was 736
Student : Teacher
16.3:1
was 14.9:1
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 | 912 | 56 | 16.3:1 | N/A |
| 2023-24 | 845 | 53 | 15.9:1 | 60% (503) |
| 2022-23 | 810 | 50 | 16.2:1 | 74% (597) |
| 2020-21 | 729 | 49 | 14.9:1 | 45% (326) |
| 2017-18 | 670 | 40 | 16.8:1 | 65% (435) |
| 2015-16 | 722 | 41 | 17.6:1 | 69% (499) |
| 2010-11 | 736 | 40 | 18.4:1 | 65% (476) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Waterway Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 36% (670 to 912); teachers up 40% (40 to 56).
About Waterway Elementary
Waterway Elementary runs as a large elementary school in Little River, South Carolina. It teaches 912 students in pre-K through 5. That is 73% above the average of about 526 students for elementary schools in South Carolina.
Horry 01 oversees Waterway Elementary and 54 other schools, with 48,662 students in total.
White students make up 48% of enrollment at Waterway Elementary, the largest share of any group. Next come 20% Hispanic, 18% Black, and 12% multiracial. That compares with about 77% White among all Horry County residents. A diversity index of 68% means there is a 68% chance two randomly chosen students at Waterway Elementary are from different groups.
On staff are 56 full-time-equivalent teachers; the student-to-teacher ratio is 16.3:1. The average for elementary schools in South Carolina is 13.3:1, so this school has more students per teacher.
Among South Carolina public elementary schools, Waterway Elementary outscored 73%, which works out to a B+ on the allk12 Grade.
In Horry County, the median household earns about $66,880 a year, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 27%, and roughly 9% of residents are in poverty. Across Horry County, 60 public schools serve about 49,639 students.
North Myrtle Beach Middle sits about 0.1 miles from Waterway Elementary. Inside a five-mile radius, there are 4 other public schools.
The federal government classifies Waterway Elementary's location as Suburb: Large.
The school's enrollment increased 25% from 2020-21 to 2024-25. Students per teacher increased from 14.9 in 2020-21 to 16.3 in 2024-25.
This page is set up for the Waterway Elementary community to discuss open houses, carpools, and field trips. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Horry County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
383,016
Census ACS
Median income
$66,880
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
27%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
60
49,639 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Horry 01
- Carolina Forest HighHigh · 3,176 students
- St. James HighHigh · 1,826 students
- Conway HighHigh · 1,724 students
- Socastee HighHigh · 1,720 students
- North Myrtle Beach HighHigh · 1,673 students
- Myrtle Beach HighHigh · 1,510 students
Other schools in Little River
- North Myrtle Beach HighHigh · 1,673 students
- North Myrtle Beach MiddleMiddle · 1,267 students
- Riverside ElementaryElementary · 697 students
Nearby schools
- North Myrtle Beach Middle0.1 mi · 1,267
- North Myrtle Beach High1.2 mi · 1,673
- Ocean Drive Elementary1.5 mi · 852
- Riverside Elementary2.4 mi · 697
- Carolina Shores Acceleration Academy8.2 mi · 277
- Jessie Mae Monroe Elementary10.2 mi · 390
Frequently asked questions
About Waterway ElementaryHow many students attend Waterway Elementary?
Waterway Elementary enrolls approximately 912 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does Waterway Elementary serve?
Waterway Elementary serves grades PK-05.
How many students per teacher at Waterway Elementary?
Approximately 16.3:1 students per teacher at Waterway Elementary.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Waterway Elementary?
At Waterway Elementary, the student body is approximately 48% White, 20% Hispanic, 18% Black, 1% Asian, 12% Two or more.
Who oversees Waterway Elementary?
Waterway Elementary is overseen by Horry 01 in Horry County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.