1
Does Whittaker Elementary have enough mental health and stress support?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
325
Elementary
DISTRICT 317 · STATE 526
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ORANGEBURG·NCES 450391000869
Whittaker Elementary
790 Whittaker Parkway, Orangeburg, SC 29115 · (803) 534-6559 · Orangeburg County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY32-TOWNREGULAR SCHOOL325 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 20% of South Carolina public elementary schools
- C-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
15.5:1
21 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.1:1 · STATE 13.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
,
Title I proxy
DISTRICT 100% · 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 | 26 | 8% |
| Kindergarten | 54 | 17% |
| Grade 1 | 54 | 17% |
| Grade 2 | 46 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 49 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 47 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 49 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (54) is 10% larger than its 5th grade class (49).
Student demographics
20%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 42% · 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
35.0%
SC avg 59.7% . -1.6pp since 2023
Math
38.6%
SC avg 44.2% . +0.3pp since 2023
What this means: On the SC READY, South Carolina's statewide test, about 35 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 39 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 | 35.0% | 38.6% |
| 2023-24 | 36.6% | 38.3% |
% Meets or Exceeds Expectations, all students and all tested grades.
Source: SC READY. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
Where Whittaker Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In South Carolina | In Orangeburg County |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 38.6% | #447 of 635 ▼ 31 | #4 of 15 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 35.0% | #604 of 635 ▼ 75 | #13 of 15 ▼ 6 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 325 | #573 of 709 | #6 of 17 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.5:1 | #546 of 656 | #13 of 15 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 20.4% | #640 of 656 | #14 of 15 |
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
325
-85 (-21%) vs 2020
Student : Teacher
15.5:1
was 17.1:1
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 | 325 | 21 | 15.5:1 | N/A |
| 2023-24 | 369 | 21.9 | 16.9:1 | 100% (369) |
| 2022-23 | 415 | 23.3 | 17.9:1 | 100% (415) |
| 2020-21 | 410 | 24 | 17.1:1 | 100% (410) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Whittaker Elementary.
About Whittaker Elementary
Whittaker Elementary operates as a small elementary school in Orangeburg, South Carolina. The school serves 325 students in pre-K through 5 in 2024-25. For comparison, elementary schools in South Carolina average about 526 students.
Orangeburg has 27 schools and 10,462 students, and Whittaker Elementary is one of those schools.
Whittaker Elementary enrolls a student body that is 89% Black. Other reported shares: 7% Hispanic and 2% White. That compares with about 61% Black among all Orangeburg County residents. Whittaker Elementary has a diversity index of 20%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
The school employs the equivalent of 21 full-time teachers, for a ratio of 15.5:1. The average ratio among elementary schools in South Carolina is 13.3:1, lower than at this school.
Whittaker Elementary is graded C- by allk12, scoring above 20% of South Carolina public elementary schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
In the county around the school, Orangeburg County, median household income is about $45,675, about 19% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 16%. A total of 34 public schools operate in Orangeburg County, serving about 11,507 students.
Robert E. Howard Middle is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.6 miles away. Counting only straight-line distance, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles.
NCES describes the area around Whittaker Elementary as Town: Distant, meaning in a town some distance from an urbanized area.
Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, the student count declined from 410 to 325. In 2020-21, the student-to-teacher ratio was 17.1:1; by 2024-25 it was 15.5:1.
Topics for discussion here include sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Orangeburg County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
83,253
Census ACS
Median income
$45,675
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
19%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
16%
Below federal line
Schools in county
34
11,507 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Orangeburg
- Orangeburg Wilkinson HighHigh · 992 students
- Lake Marion High SchoolHigh · 692 students
- Edisto PrimaryElementary · 635 students
- Marshall ElementaryElementary · 625 students
- Edisto HighHigh · 614 students
- William J. Clark MiddleMiddle · 587 students
Other schools in Orangeburg
- Orangeburg Wilkinson HighHigh · 992 students
- Marshall ElementaryElementary · 625 students
- William J. Clark MiddleMiddle · 587 students
- Orangeburg High School for Health ProfessionsHigh · 492 students
- Sheridan ElementaryElementary · 450 students
- Edisto ElementaryElementary · 419 students
Nearby schools
- Robert E. Howard Middle0.6 mi · 396
- Felton Laboratory Charter School0.8 mi · 279
- Brookdale Elementary1.2 mi · 215
- Mellichamp Elementary1.9 mi · 144
- William J. Clark Middle2.0 mi · 587
- Orangeburg Wilkinson High2.2 mi · 992
Frequently asked questions
About Whittaker ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at Whittaker Elementary?
Whittaker Elementary enrolls approximately 325 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Whittaker Elementary serve?
Whittaker Elementary serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Whittaker Elementary?
Approximately 15.5:1 students per teacher at Whittaker Elementary.
How diverse is Whittaker Elementary?
Whittaker Elementary reports a student body of 2% White, 7% Hispanic, 89% Black, 2% Two or more.
What district is Whittaker Elementary in?
Whittaker Elementary is part of Orangeburg.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.