Enrollment
249
South Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Ruffin, SC
Bells Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Bells Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 45/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 450183000332
👥 S:T ratio 52
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 50
📋 Attendance 9
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Bells Elementary earns 45/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 80% of South Carolina schools.
- 45
- Resource Index · Typical
- 11.9:1
- small classes for South Carolina
- 100.0%
- free-lunch eligible
- 249
- students enrolled
Bells Elementary has class sizes smaller than 80% of South Carolina schools. Computed live against every South Carolina school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Colleton 01 · South Carolina
NCES ID 450183000332 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
21.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.9:1
vs 14.3:1 South Carolina avg
-17% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
100.0%
vs 74.0% South Carolina avg
+35% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Bells Elementary compares with South Carolina and U.S. medians
What stands out at Bells Elementary
Bells Elementary is a high-poverty, small combined-grade school in Ruffin, South Carolina, enrolling 249 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 11.9:1 puts it in the smaller third of South Carolina schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 100.0% lands close to the South Carolina typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 249 puts it in the smaller third of South Carolina schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,214 scored South Carolina schools.
Against 149 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #95.
Its student body is led by White (45%) and African American (41%) (diversity index 62/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 249 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 36.5% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 18.7% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Colleton 01 also operates Colleton County High (1,352 students) and Colleton County Middle (931 students) alongside Bells Elementary.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Bells Elementary compares
Bells Elementary on the metrics families compare, against South Carolina and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs South Carolina | South Carolina avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 11.9:1 | ▼ 17% | 14.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 100.0% | ▲ 35% | 74.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 249 | top 88% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
11.9:1
Leaner classes than 76% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
249
Bigger than 25% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
100.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 35% above the South Carolina average of 74.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
11.9:1
students per teacher
- 17% below state mean
Top 20% in South Carolina - lower ratio than 80% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
36.5%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$13,393
per pupil, district-wide
- below South Carolina avg of $14,558
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 249 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 9 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
White 45.0%
African American 41.4%
Hispanic or Latino 9.6%
Two or More 3.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Largest group: White at 45.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 61.6/100
Simpson diversity index - at 61.6, Bells Elementary is more mixed than the South Carolina school average of 52.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Colleton 01, which includes Bells Elementary.
$13,393
Per student
-8%
vs South Carolina
Avg $14,558
-19%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 36.9%
State 44.4%
Federal 18.7%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
How Bells Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colleton County High | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Colleton County Middle | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Forest Hills Elementary | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Northside Elementary | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Cottageville Elementary | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Bells Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,352
- Students per teacher
- 21.1:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
- Enrollment
- 931
- Students per teacher
- 15.8:1
- Resource Index
- 36/100
- Enrollment
- 472
- Students per teacher
- 14.3:1
- Resource Index
- 30/100
- Enrollment
- 428
- Students per teacher
- 14.8:1
- Resource Index
- 36/100
- Enrollment
- 425
- Students per teacher
- 14.7:1
- Resource Index
- 32/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of South Carolina, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~249 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~11.9:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Bells Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Bells Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Colleton 01's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Bells Elementary
How many students attend Bells Elementary?
Bells Elementary has 249 students enrolled. It is a public school in Ruffin, SC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Bells Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Bells Elementary is 11.9:1, which is 17% lower than the South Carolina average of 14.3:1 and 24% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Bells Elementary?
100.0% of students at Bells Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the South Carolina average of 74.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Bells Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Bells Elementary is White at 45.0% of enrollment, in Ruffin, SC. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 61.6/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Bells Elementary?
Bells Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Bells Elementary a good school?
Bells Elementary earns 45/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 80% of South Carolina schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in Colleton 01?
Besides Bells Elementary, Colleton 01 also operates Colleton County High (1,352 students), Colleton County Middle (931 students), and Forest Hills Elementary (472 students). See the Colleton 01 district page for the complete list.
Related tools
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. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.