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Summerville, South Carolina - 25 schools
An equity score of 24/100 ranks Dorchester 02 #65 of 73 districts in South Carolina (state average 51). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $11,173 per pupil, Dorchester 02 ranks #69 of 74 South Carolina districts by per-pupil spending (South Carolina districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
26,135
Total Enrollment
25
Schools
$11,173
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Middle
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Dorchester 02 operates 25 public schools serving 26,135 students, placing it in the mid-size range in South Carolina. The school portfolio breaks down into 15 combined, 7 middle, 3 high schools, giving families a clear picture of grade-band coverage 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 Dorchester County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,173 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, among the bottom 8 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 32.4% local, 53.8% state, and 13.8% federal, a state-revenue-heavy mix that insulates the district somewhat from local property-tax volatility, though it ties funding to state budget cycles. The district's equity score is 24/100, ranked #65 of 73 in South Carolina against a state average of 51, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 3 of 25 schools offering Advanced Placement (59 AP courses district-wide), a 337.2:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 30.4% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 45.0% White, 28.5% African American, 15.0% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Eagle Nest Elementary, with a diversity index of 73.9/100.
Its largest campus is Summerville High, enrolling 3,361 students (13% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Summerville Elementary, at 548 students, a 6x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Dorchester 02 school enrollment varies 6.1× across entities
Dorchester 02 school enrollment ranges from 548 students (lowest) to 3,361 students (highest), a spread of 2,813 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.
Dorchester 02 has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 58.7% 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.
Dorchester 02 student-counselor ratio is 337:1 — 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 Dorchester 02 is typically wider than the Dorchester 02-aggregate figure suggests.
Dorchester 02 chronic absenteeism rate is 30.4% — 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.