Other / mixed grade configuration · Columbia, SC

Burton Pack Elementary

Federal NCES profile for Burton Pack Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 44/100.

2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 450336000499
0/100100/10044/100
👥 S:T ratio
56
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
49
📋 Attendance
0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Burton Pack Elementary earns 44/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 87% of South Carolina schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most South Carolina schools.

#24 of 43
schools in Columbia · Resource Index
44
Resource Index · Typical
11.1:1
small classes for South Carolina
100.0%
free-lunch eligible

Burton Pack Elementary has class sizes smaller than 87% of South Carolina schools. Computed live against every South Carolina school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Burton Pack Elementary ranks #24 of 43 schools in Columbia, SC.

School address

Enrollment

255

South Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

23.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

11.1:1

vs 14.3:1 South Carolina avg

-22% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

100.0%

vs 74.0% South Carolina avg

+35% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Burton Pack Elementary compares with South Carolina and U.S. medians

Smaller classes than state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Burton Pack Elementary

Burton Pack Elementary is a high-poverty, small combined-grade school in Columbia, South Carolina, enrolling 255 students.

Classes run notably small here: at 11.1:1, Burton Pack Elementary is leaner than roughly 87% of South Carolina schools and 22% under the state's 14.3:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.

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 255 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 162 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #110.

Its student body is predominantly African American (89% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 20/100).

Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 255 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 65.9% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

The surrounding Richland 01 spends $18,122 per pupil, 24% above the South Carolina average, a better-resourced district than most.

Discipline events run high: 70 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 255 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.

Among Columbia's public schools, it stands alongside Sc Connections Academy (6,152 students): Burton Pack Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (11.1:1 vs 27.8:1).

Richland 01 also operates A. C. Flora High (1,328 students) and Lower Richland High (1,218 students) alongside Burton Pack 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 Burton Pack Elementary compares

Burton Pack 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 11.1:1 ▼ 22% 14.3:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 100.0% ▲ 35% 74.0% 51.7%
Enrollment 255 top 87% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

11.1:1
Leaner classes than 82% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
255
Bigger than 26% 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
11.1:1
students per teacher - 22% below state mean
Top 13% in South Carolina - lower ratio than 87% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
65.9%
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
$18,122
per pupil, district-wide - above South Carolina avg of $14,558
Somewhat above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 255 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
21
in-school suspensions + 49 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 8.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 27.5 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

African American 89.0%
Two or More 5.5%
Hispanic or Latino 5.1%
White 0.4%

Largest group: African American at 89.0% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 20.2/100

Simpson diversity index - at 20.2, Burton Pack Elementary is less mixed than the South Carolina school average of 52.7.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Richland 01, which includes Burton Pack Elementary.

$18,122
Per student
+24%
vs South Carolina
Avg $14,558
+9%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 58.1%
State 28.3%
Federal 13.6%

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 Burton Pack Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
A. C. Flora High Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Lower Richland High Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Dreher High Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Crayton Middle Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Brennen Elementary Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Burton Pack Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Richland 01 · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar other schools in Columbia

6 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.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Burton Pack Elementary's federal record.

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 Burton Pack Elementary

How many students attend Burton Pack Elementary?

Burton Pack Elementary has 255 students enrolled. It is a public school in Columbia, SC.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Burton Pack Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at Burton Pack Elementary is 11.1:1, which is 22% lower than the South Carolina average of 14.3:1 and 29% 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 Burton Pack Elementary?

100.0% of students at Burton Pack Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the South Carolina average of 74.0%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Burton Pack Elementary?

The largest demographic group at Burton Pack Elementary is African American at 89.0% of enrollment, in Columbia, SC.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Burton Pack Elementary?

Burton Pack Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (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).

How does Burton Pack Elementary rank among schools in Columbia?

By Resource Investment Index, Burton Pack Elementary ranks #24 of 43 schools in Columbia, SC. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Columbia on the city page.

Is Burton Pack Elementary a good school?

Burton Pack Elementary earns 44/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 87% of South Carolina schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most 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 Richland 01?

Besides Burton Pack Elementary, Richland 01 also operates A. C. Flora High (1,328 students), Lower Richland High (1,218 students), and Dreher High (1,144 students). See the Richland 01 district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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.