5 public K-12 schools in Pawleys Island from NCES Common Core of Data: enrollment, grade span, demographics, and Civil Rights Data Collection statistics for every active campus.
5 public schools ranked by quality score. NCES CCD 2024-25 data.
The highest-ranked of Pawleys Island's 5 public schools is Waccamaw High, scoring 50/100, against a city average of 46.2/100. Computed live across every Pawleys Island campus reporting to NCES.
How the Pawleys Island Public-School Landscape Breaks Down
Pawleys Island, SC enrolls 2,337 students across 5 public schools reporting to the National Center for Education Statistics. Of those, 1 are charter schools, giving families genuine alternatives to the traditional neighbourhood assignment model. The average student-teacher ratio across the city is 15.2:1, and the composite quality score, derived from student-teacher ratio, counselor access, gifted-program availability, and CRDC attendance data, averages 46.2/100. Schools must report at least five campuses in a city to appear in this listing, which is why very small towns may redirect to the broader county or state view.
The most-resourced campus in Pawleys Island on this index is Waccamaw High, at 50/100 on the Resource Investment Index with 808 enrolled students. What the index does and doesn't measure; click any school below for its full component breakdown.
Pawleys Island spans 1 district, each filing its own NCES F-33 return, per-pupil spending can vary between neighbouring campuses. Sort the table below by enrollment, level, or district; click any school for its full profile.
Waccamaw High accounts for 34.6% of all Pawleys Island public-school enrollment
That dominant concentration means Pawleys Island-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade level: High. A dominant campus often anchors a city's program landscape and absorbs a disproportionate share of district capital and staffing decisions. When one entity dominates a region's footprint, its programmatic and budget decisions effectively set policy for a majority of the affected population.
Pawleys Island school enrollment varies 3.3× across entities
Pawleys Island school enrollment ranges from 242 students (lowest) to 808 students (highest), a spread of 566 students. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually homogeneous school portfolio for a city this size. Per-school staffing, programme depth, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same city based on enrollment shape, a 200-student magnet runs a different operational model than a 2,000-student comprehensive high school.
Pawleys Island has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 52.2% of the population qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch
free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is the federal threshold for Title I funding allocations, established under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015). Areas above 75% eligibility receive concentration grants on top of the basic Title I formula. Regions with eligibility this high typically draw a substantially larger federal funding share relative to their local tax base, which can either offset or reinforce existing gaps depending on allocation policy.
Pawleys Island operates only 1 school district — one of the single most consolidated governance structures in the country
Most Pawleys Island school districts are a single unified district covering the whole city, a structural feature that simplifies inter-school comparison but concentrates policy authority, and the count here is near the floor observed nationally. Consolidation produces narrower variance because resources pool across a large population, but it can also mask intra-school district inequities — sub-school district differences within a single school district are not visible at this aggregation level. Consolidated systems typically rely more heavily on top-down funding formulas than on local revenue variability.
Pawleys Island student-teacher ratio is 15.2:1 — near the typical range (US average ~15.7) — aligned with the U.S. average of approximately 15.7:1
student-teacher ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE classroom teachers against total enrollment, push-in specialists, English-language aides, special-education co-teachers, and counselors are not included in most reporting Variation between sub-units within Pawleys Island is typically wider than the Pawleys Island-aggregate figure suggests.
Pawleys Island has higher-than-average charter school authorisation eligibility — 20.0% of the population qualifies for charter-school enrollment options
charter-school enrollment options eligibility is the federal threshold for charter school authorisation funding allocations, established under the state-specific charter law. Eligibility here is approaching the 30% concentration-grant threshold; it does not yet unlock the extra funding tier but sits meaningfully above the baseline 10% majority mark. Regions with eligibility this high typically draw a substantially larger federal funding share relative to their local tax base, which can either offset or reinforce existing gaps depending on allocation policy.
Most racially and ethnically mixed schools in Pawleys Island
Ranked by the Simpson student-body diversity index (0-100) from NCES race and ethnicity data, where higher means a more evenly mixed student body. It measures mix, not quality.
What are the best schools in Pawleys Island, SC? ▼
The highest-ranked school in Pawleys Island is Waccamaw High with a quality score of 50/100. There are 5 public schools in Pawleys Island with 2,337 total students.
How many schools are in Pawleys Island, SC? ▼
Pawleys Island has 5 public schools with a total enrollment of 2,337 students. 1 are charter schools. Average student-teacher ratio: 15.2:1.
Data from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 and Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22. Quality scores based on student-teacher ratio,
counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance. Schools must have 5+ in the city to be listed.
Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD). Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Read our methodology, which explains how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
