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What's the biggest difference between Willow Drive Elementary and what you expected?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
504
Elementary
DISTRICT 441 · STATE 526
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SUMTER 01·NCES 450390201062
Willow Drive Elementary
26 Willow Drive, Sumter, SC 29150 · (803) 773-5796 · Sumter County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY13-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL504 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 9% of South Carolina public elementary 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 elementary schools
Student : Teacher
15.7:1
32 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.5:1 · 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 | 59 | 12% |
| Kindergarten | 77 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 92 | 18% |
| Grade 2 | 77 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 72 | 14% |
| Grade 4 | 63 | 13% |
| Grade 5 | 64 | 13% |
This year's kindergarten class (77) is 20% larger than its 5th grade class (64).
Student demographics
39%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 53% · 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
38.7%
SC avg 59.7% . +9.1pp since 2023
Math
25.6%
SC avg 44.2% . +2.6pp since 2023
What this means: On the SC READY, South Carolina's statewide test, about 39 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 26 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 9 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 3 points.
SC READY results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 38.7% | 25.6% |
| 2023-24 | 29.6% | 23.0% |
% Meets or Exceeds Expectations, all students and all tested grades.
Source: SC READY. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
Where Willow Drive Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In South Carolina | In Sumter County |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 25.6% | #587 of 635 ▼ 11 | #13 of 15 ▼ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 38.7% | #581 of 635 ▲ 2 | #10 of 15 ▲ 2 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 504 | #353 of 709 | #7 of 16 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.7:1 | #560 of 656 | #11 of 15 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 38.7% | #534 of 656 | #12 of 15 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -23.3% | #84 of 395 | #6 of 12 |
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
504
-78 (-13%) vs 2020
Student : Teacher
15.7:1
was 15.3:1
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 | 504 | 32.2 | 15.7:1 | N/A |
| 2023-24 | 539 | 36.2 | 14.9:1 | 100% (539) |
| 2022-23 | 551 | 32 | 17.2:1 | 100% (551) |
| 2020-21 | 582 | 38 | 15.3:1 | 100% (582) |
| 2017-18 | 657 | 41 | 16.0:1 | 100% (657) |
| 2015-16 | 687 | 43 | 16.0:1 | 99% (679) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Willow Drive Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 23% (657 to 504); teachers down 21% (41 to 32.2).
About Willow Drive Elementary
Willow Drive Elementary is a mid-sized elementary school in Sumter, South Carolina. It is open to students in pre-K through 5 and enrolls 504 students.
Sumter 01 runs 24 schools with a combined 13,871 students. Willow Drive Elementary is one of them.
More than half of the students at Willow Drive Elementary are Black (77%). The remaining shares are 12% White and 7% Hispanic. Census estimates put the Black share of Sumter County's population at about 46%. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, Willow Drive Elementary scores 39%.
Based on 32.2 full-time-equivalent teachers, Willow Drive Elementary has a ratio of 15.7:1. The gap from the 13.3:1 average for elementary schools in South Carolina is 2.3 students per teacher.
On the allk12 Grade, Willow Drive Elementary lands at D, ahead of 9% of South Carolina public elementary schools.
Sumter County is the school's county. There, median household income comes to about $56,693, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 24%, and roughly 13% of residents are in poverty. There are 27 public schools in the county, enrolling about 14,608, Willow Drive Elementary among them.
Alice Drive Middle is about 1.0 miles away, making it the nearest public school. Willow Drive Elementary is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles.
The NCES locale for Willow Drive Elementary is City: Small, which covers schools inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.
From 2020-21 to 2024-25, enrollment fell from 582 to 504, a 13% decrease.
The allk12 page for Willow Drive Elementary lets the school community talk about pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Sumter County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
104,725
Census ACS
Median income
$56,693
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
24%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
13%
Below federal line
Schools in county
27
14,608 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Sumter 01
- Sumter High SchoolHigh · 2,122 students
- Crestwood HighHigh · 1,105 students
- Lakewood HighHigh · 1,013 students
- Alice Drive MiddleMiddle · 783 students
- Furman MiddleMiddle · 700 students
- Pocalla Springs ElementaryElementary · 609 students
Other schools in Sumter
- Sumter High SchoolHigh · 2,122 students
- Crestwood HighHigh · 1,105 students
- Lakewood HighHigh · 1,013 students
- Alice Drive MiddleMiddle · 783 students
- Liberty STEAM Charter SchoolElementary · 730 students
- Furman MiddleMiddle · 700 students
Nearby schools
- Alice Drive Middle1.0 mi · 783
- Alice Drive Elementary1.1 mi · 530
- Liberty STEAM Charter School1.2 mi · 730
- Crosswell Drive Elementary1.6 mi · 481
- Millwood Elementary2.0 mi · 602
- Bates Middle2.5 mi · 481
Frequently asked questions
About Willow Drive ElementaryHow many students attend Willow Drive Elementary?
Willow Drive Elementary enrolls approximately 504 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does Willow Drive Elementary serve?
Willow Drive Elementary serves grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Willow Drive Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Willow Drive Elementary is approximately 15.7:1 (32 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Willow Drive Elementary?
At Willow Drive Elementary, the student body is approximately 12% White, 7% Hispanic, 77% Black, 2% Asian, 2% Two or more.
What district is Willow Drive Elementary in?
Willow Drive Elementary is part of Sumter 01.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.