Enrollment
243
Middle
DISTRICT 579 · STATE 622
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BEAUFORT 01·NCES 450111000422
Whale Branch Middle
2009 Trask Parkway, Seabrook, SC 29940 · (843) 466-3000 · Beaufort County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE41-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL243 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 10% of South Carolina public middle schools
- DTest 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
7.6:1
32 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 10.6:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
,
Title I proxy
STATE 77%
Community
0
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 | 84 | 35% |
| Grade 7 | 68 | 28% |
| Grade 8 | 91 | 37% |
Student demographics
49%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 70% · 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
37.3%
SC avg 59.7% . +7.6pp since 2023
Math
12.7%
SC avg 44.2% . -0.2pp since 2023
What this means: On the SC READY, South Carolina's statewide test, about 37 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 13 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 8 points since 2023, while math scores have held steady.
SC READY results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 37.3% | 12.7% |
| 2023-24 | 29.7% | 12.9% |
% Meets or Exceeds Expectations, all students and all tested grades.
Source: SC READY. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
Where Whale Branch Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In South Carolina | In Beaufort County |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 12.7% | #222 of 249 ▼ 11 | #6 of 6 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 37.3% | #214 of 249 ▲ 11 | #6 of 6 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 243 | #235 of 256 | #6 of 7 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 7.6:1 | #1 of 241 | #1 of 6 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 49.5% | #170 of 241 | #6 of 6 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -33.8% | #8 of 137 | N/A |
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
243
-115 (-32%) vs 2020
-55% since 2000-01, when it was 538
Student : Teacher
7.6:1
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 | 243 | 32 | 7.6:1 | N/A |
| 2023-24 | 226 | 34 | 6.7:1 | 100% (226) |
| 2022-23 | 331 | 31 | 10.7:1 | 100% (331) |
| 2020-21 | 358 | 29 | 12.3:1 | 100% (358) |
| 2017-18 | 367 | 31 | 11.8:1 | 100% (367) |
| 2015-16 | 395 | 33 | 12.0:1 | 100% (395) |
| 2010-11 | 332 | 28 | 11.9:1 | 87% (288) |
| 2000-01 | 538 | 35 | 15.4:1 | 73% (393) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Whale Branch Middle.
Since 2017-18: students down 34% (367 to 243); teachers up 3% (31 to 32).
About Whale Branch Middle
Federal records list Whale Branch Middle as a middle school in Seabrook, South Carolina. Enrolled students number 243 students, in grades 6 through 8. Statewide, middle schools in South Carolina average about 622 students each.
Whale Branch Middle falls under Beaufort 01, which has 32 schools enrolling 21,050 students.
Black students make up a majority at Whale Branch Middle, at 67%. The remaining shares are 21% Hispanic, 7% multiracial, and 5% White. Census estimates put the Black share of Beaufort County's population at about 16%. Pick two students at random and there is a 49% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
The ratio of students to teachers is 7.6:1, with 32 full-time-equivalent teachers on staff. That is 6.2 students per teacher below the 13.8:1 average for middle schools in South Carolina.
Measured against South Carolina public middle schools, Whale Branch Middle receives a D. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
Beaufort County census figures show that the median household income is $86,573, 46% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 7% of people live in poverty. There are 35 public schools in Beaufort County, enrolling about 22,968 students in all.
The closest public school to Whale Branch Middle is Whale Branch Elementary, about 0.2 miles away. Counting only straight-line distance, 2 other public schools are within five miles.
The federal government classifies Whale Branch Middle's location as Rural: Fringe.
2024-25 enrollment was 243, a 32% decrease from 358 in 2020-21. The number of students per teacher fell from 12.3 to 7.6 over 4 years.
Questions about school safety, transportation, and start times can be posted here. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Beaufort County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
195,289
Census ACS
Median income
$86,573
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
46%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
35
22,968 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Beaufort 01
- May River HighHigh · 1,731 students
- Bluffton HighHigh · 1,375 students
- Hilton Head Island HighHigh · 1,265 students
- River Ridge AcademyElementary · 1,134 students
- Beaufort HighHigh · 1,104 students
- Bluffton MiddleMiddle · 921 students
Other schools in Seabrook
- Whale Branch ElementaryElementary · 409 students
- Whale Branch Early College HighHigh · 390 students
Nearby schools
- Whale Branch Elementary0.2 mi · 409
- Whale Branch Early College High1.2 mi · 390
- Joseph S. Shanklin Elementary6.2 mi · 416
- Battery Creek High6.9 mi · 809
- Robert Smalls Leadership Academy7.5 mi · 785
- Beaufort Elementary7.8 mi · 375
Frequently asked questions
About Whale Branch MiddleHow large is Whale Branch Middle?
Whale Branch Middle enrolls approximately 243 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does Whale Branch Middle serve?
Whale Branch Middle serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
How many teachers does Whale Branch Middle have?
Whale Branch Middle employs 32 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 7.6:1.
What is the student diversity at Whale Branch Middle?
Student demographics at Whale Branch Middle are roughly 5% White, 21% Hispanic, 67% Black, 7% Two or more.
Is Whale Branch Middle public or private?
Whale Branch Middle is a public K-12 school, overseen by Beaufort 01.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.