Enrollment
349
South Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Rowesville, SC
Bethune-Bowman Middle/High
Federal NCES profile for Bethune-Bowman Middle/High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 56/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 450391000850
👥 S:T ratio 44
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 30
📋 Attendance 80
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Bethune-Bowman Middle/High earns 56/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the South Carolina median.
- 56
- Resource Index · Higher
- 14:1
- students per teacher
- 100.0%
- free-lunch eligible
- 349
- students enrolled
Bethune-Bowman Middle/High has class sizes near the South Carolina median. Computed live against every South Carolina school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Orangeburg · South Carolina
NCES ID 450391000850 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
25.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14:1
vs 14.3:1 South Carolina avg
-2% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
100.0%
vs 74.0% South Carolina avg
+35% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Bethune-Bowman Middle/High compares with South Carolina and U.S. medians
What stands out at Bethune-Bowman Middle/High
Bethune-Bowman Middle/High is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Rowesville, South Carolina, enrolling 349 students.
At 14:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the South Carolina median, within a few percentage points of the 14.3:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
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 349 puts it in the smaller third of South Carolina schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 1,214 scored South Carolina schools.
Among 290 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need South Carolina schools statewide, it ranks #23, a top-tier result once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is led by African American (77%) and Hispanic or Latino (16%) (diversity index 38/100).
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 349 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
Attendance holds up well here: only 8.0% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
Its district draws 19.6% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Discipline events run high: 193 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 349 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
The federal civil-rights collection also records 1 expulsion at this campus for 2021-22.
Among Rowesville's public schools, it stands alongside Bethune-Bowman Elementary (259 students): Bethune-Bowman Middle/High is larger than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (14:1 vs 15.2:1).
Orangeburg also operates Orangeburg Wilkinson High (992 students) and Lake Marion High School (692 students) alongside Bethune-Bowman Middle/High.
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 Bethune-Bowman Middle/High compares
Bethune-Bowman Middle/High 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 | 14:1 | ▼ 2% | 14.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 100.0% | ▲ 35% | 74.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 349 | top 78% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
14:1
Leaner classes than 57% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
349
Bigger than 40% 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
14:1
students per teacher
- 2% below state mean
Top 50% in South Carolina - lower ratio than 50% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
8.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$15,232
per pupil, district-wide
- above 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 349 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
60
in-school suspensions + 133 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 17.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 55.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 1 expulsion.
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
African American 77.1%
Hispanic or Latino 16.3%
White 5.2%
Asian 0.6%
Two or More 0.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Largest group: African American at 77.1% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 37.6/100
Simpson diversity index - at 37.6, Bethune-Bowman Middle/High is less mixed than the South Carolina school average of 52.7.
Programs
AP courses offered 2
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Orangeburg, which includes Bethune-Bowman Middle/High.
$15,232
Per student
+5%
vs South Carolina
Avg $14,558
-8%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 33.7%
State 46.7%
Federal 19.6%
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 Bethune-Bowman Middle/High Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orangeburg Wilkinson High | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Lake Marion High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Edisto Primary | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Marshall Elementary | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Edisto High | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Bethune-Bowman Middle/High's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 992
- Students per teacher
- 16.8:1
- Resource Index
- 34/100
- Enrollment
- 692
- Students per teacher
- 16.1:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
- Enrollment
- 635
- Students per teacher
- 19.2:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
- Enrollment
- 625
- Students per teacher
- 16.9:1
- Resource Index
- 56/100
- Enrollment
- 614
- Students per teacher
- 14.6:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
Similar other schools in Rowesville
1 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
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 (~349 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~14:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Bethune-Bowman Middle/High's federal record.
- Compare Bethune-Bowman Middle/High against another school. Compare schools
- Orangeburg'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 Bethune-Bowman Middle/High
How many students attend Bethune-Bowman Middle/High?
Bethune-Bowman Middle/High has 349 students enrolled. It is a public school in Rowesville, SC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Bethune-Bowman Middle/High?
The student-teacher ratio at Bethune-Bowman Middle/High is 14:1, which is 2% lower than the South Carolina average of 14.3:1 and 11% 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 Bethune-Bowman Middle/High?
100.0% of students at Bethune-Bowman Middle/High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the South Carolina average of 74.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Bethune-Bowman Middle/High?
The largest demographic group at Bethune-Bowman Middle/High is African American at 77.1% of enrollment, in Rowesville, SC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Bethune-Bowman Middle/High?
Bethune-Bowman Middle/High has a Resource Investment Index of 56/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Bethune-Bowman Middle/High a good school?
Bethune-Bowman Middle/High earns 56/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the South Carolina median. 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 Orangeburg?
Besides Bethune-Bowman Middle/High, Orangeburg also operates Orangeburg Wilkinson High (992 students), Lake Marion High School (692 students), and Edisto Primary (635 students). See the Orangeburg 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.