Enrollment
255
South Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Columbia, SC
Federal NCES profile for Burton Pack Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 44/100.
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.
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.
NCES ID 450336000499 Verify on NCES CCD record →
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
How Burton Pack Elementary compares with South Carolina and U.S. medians
Smaller classes than state median
11.1:1 - 3.2 below the South Carolina state median of 14.3:1, indicating smaller average class loads than typical schools in the state.
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
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
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.
Largest group: African American at 89.0% of enrollment.
Simpson diversity index - at 20.2, Burton Pack Elementary is less mixed than the South Carolina school average of 52.7.
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Richland 01, which includes Burton Pack Elementary.
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.
| 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.
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
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.
Burton Pack Elementary has 255 students enrolled. It is a public school in Columbia, SC.
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.
100.0% of students at Burton Pack Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the South Carolina average of 74.0%.
The largest demographic group at Burton Pack Elementary is African American at 89.0% of enrollment, in Columbia, SC.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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PlainSchools, “Burton Pack Elementary, Columbia SC.” Compiled from NCES Common Core of Data, Civil Rights Data Collection, and the NCES F-33 finance survey; data as of June 2026. https://plainschools.com/schools/burton-pack-elementary-sc
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