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Darlington, South Carolina - 18 schools
An equity score of 73/100 ranks Darlington 01 #11 of 73 districts in South Carolina (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $16,032 per pupil, Darlington 01 ranks #13 of 74 South Carolina districts by per-pupil spending (South Carolina districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
9,042
Total Enrollment
18
Schools
$16,032
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Darlington 01 operates 18 public schools serving 9,042 students, placing it among the smaller districts in South Carolina. The school portfolio breaks down into 7 combined, 4 high, 4 elementary, 3 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 Darlington County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $16,032 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 74 South Carolina districts by per-pupil spending. See how South Carolina compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 38.6% local, 40.1% state, and 21.4% 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 73/100, ranked #11 of 73 in South Carolina against a state average of 51, notably more even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 2 of 18 schools offering Advanced Placement (5 AP courses district-wide), a 308.4:1 student-counselor ratio, somewhat above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 30.8% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 50.6% African American, 33.5% White, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Hartsville High, with a diversity index of 64.8/100.
Its largest campus is Hartsville High, enrolling 1,129 students (13% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Rosenwald Elementary/Middle, at 71 students, a 16x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Darlington 01 school enrollment varies 16× across entities
Darlington 01 school enrollment ranges from 71 students (lowest) to 1,129 students (highest), a spread of 1,058 students. That spread reflects typical mixed-portfolio variation between specialty programs and large neighbourhood schools. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Darlington 01 has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 100.0% 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). Eligibility here is a supermajority of the population — well past the 75% concentration-grant threshold that unlocks extra funding 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.
Darlington 01 student-counselor ratio is 308:1 — near the typical range (US average ~408) — within the typical range for U.S. public districts
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 Darlington 01 is typically wider than the Darlington 01-aggregate figure suggests.
Darlington 01 chronic absenteeism rate is 30.8% — high (typically associated with higher-than-average disruption; recent CRDC data showed elevated rates persisting after pandemic-era schooling changes)
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.