Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. District totals are aggregated directly from the schools reporting under this district in the source records. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, the data changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.
Chester, South Carolina - 11 schools
An equity score of 67/100 ranks Chester 01 #19 of 74 districts in South Carolina (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $14,920 per pupil, Chester 01 ranks #31 of 75 South Carolina districts by per-pupil spending (South Carolina districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
Chester 01 operates 11 public schools serving 4,767 students, placing it among the smaller districts in South Carolina. The school portfolio breaks down into 6 combined, 2 high, 2 elementary, 1 middle schools, a compact enough portfolio that families can compare every campus directly before they move, rent, or enrol. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Chester County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $14,920 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 75 South Carolina districts by per-pupil spending. See how South Carolina compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 33.8% local, 45.8% state, and 20.4% federal, a balanced mix across local, state, and federal sources, spreading budget risk across funding cycles rather than concentrating it in one. The district's equity score is 67/100, ranked #19 of 74 in South Carolina against a state average of 50, notably more even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 2 of 11 schools offering Advanced Placement (3 AP courses district-wide), a 348.9:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 33.8% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 42.5% African American, 39.3% White, 10.0% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Great Falls Elementary, with a diversity index of 67.0/100.
Its largest campus is Chester Senior High, enrolling 699 students (15% of the district's total enrollment).
Enrollment across the district's NCES-reporting campuses fell 3.7% between 2022-23 and 2023-24 (4,767 to 4,590 students), and the student-teacher ratio held roughly steady, per the NCES Common Core of Data annual universe files.
Of the district's $82,641,000 in reported FY2023 expenditures, 41.8% went to instruction, 40.4% to support services, and 9.4% to capital outlay, support-services-heavy relative to typical districts, reflecting spending on transportation, administration, or student services. Figures come from the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey's function-level breakdown, not the aggregate per-pupil figure above.
Chester 01 school enrollment ranges from 295 students (lowest) to 699 students (highest), a spread of 404 students. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually homogeneous campus portfolio, most districts have a wider mix of school sizes. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
The reported share is above 87.5%, so economic need is widespread across the measured student population. Title I operates under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015), but its statutory allocation uses additional LEA-level counts and rules not represented by this average. This percentage is an economic-need context measure; it does not establish a Title I award, show dollars received, or describe how funds are distributed among campuses.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
student-counselor ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE counselors against total enrollment, districts that contract intervention or social-emotional staff outside the counselor classification may be under-counted Variation between sub-units within Chester 01 is typically wider than the Chester 01-aggregate figure suggests.
chronic absenteeism rate is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: a student is chronically absent if they miss ≥10% of enrolled days for any reason, illness, family obligations, or disengagement Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
This district has moderate funding equity. There may be room to improve funding diversity or resource allocation.
Average demographic composition across 11 schools in Chester 01.
Source: NCES CCD School Membership 2024-25.
Average Simpson diversity index across Chester 01's schools, above the South Carolina average of 52.7.
Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22.
| School | Enrollment |
|---|---|
| Chester Senior High | 699 |
| Lewisville Elementary | 594 |
| Chester Middle | 479 |
| Lewisville High | 431 |
| Great Falls High | 375 |
| Chester Park School Elementary of Inquiry | 355 |
| Great Falls Elementary | 335 |
| Chester Park Elementary School for the Arts | 331 |
| Academy for Teaching and Learning Charter | 329 |
| Chester Park Elementary School of Literacy and Technology | 300 |
| Lewisville Middle | 295 |
The South Carolina districts closest to this one in total enrollment.
| District | Enrollment | Spending | Funding Mix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colleton 01 | Similar size | Similar spending | Similar funding mix |
| York 01 | Similar size | Similar spending | Similar funding mix |
| Clarendon 06 | Similar size | No spending data | No revenue-mix data |
| Laurens 55 | Similar size | Similar spending | Similar funding mix |
| Spartanburg 01 | Similar size | Lower spending | Similar funding mix |
Comparisons are relative to Chester 01's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
Out-of-state peers matched by enrollment and by per-pupil expenditure, not the same-state lists above.
See how this district compares to others in enrollment, spending, demographics, and academic resources.
Compare vs Greenville 01 →Chester 01 has 11 schools, including 2 high, 6 combined, 1 middle, 2 elementary. Total enrollment is 4,767 students.
Chester 01 spends $14,920 per student. The district has an equity score of 67/100, ranking #19 in South Carolina.
Chester 01 students are 42.5% African American, 39.3% White, 10.0% Hispanic or Latino, 0.5% Asian, averaged across 11 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
Chester 01 has an equity score of 67/100, ranking #19 out of 74 districts in South Carolina.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.