Enrollment
360
South Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Donalds, SC
Cherokee Trail Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Cherokee Trail Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 51/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 450069000065
👥 S:T ratio 50
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 28
📋 Attendance 54
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Cherokee Trail Elementary earns 51/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 74% of South Carolina schools.
- 51
- Resource Index · Higher
- 12.4:1
- small classes for South Carolina
- 66.4%
- free-lunch eligible
- 360
- students enrolled
Cherokee Trail Elementary has class sizes smaller than 74% of South Carolina schools. Computed live against every South Carolina school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Abbeville 60 · South Carolina
NCES ID 450069000065 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
29.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.4:1
vs 14.3:1 South Carolina avg
-13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
66.4%
vs 74.0% South Carolina avg
-10% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cherokee Trail Elementary compares with South Carolina and U.S. medians
What stands out at Cherokee Trail Elementary
Cherokee Trail Elementary is a higher-need, mid-sized combined-grade school in Donalds, South Carolina, enrolling 360 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.4:1 puts it in the smaller third of South Carolina schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 66.4% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 360 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.
Against 62 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #19.
Its student body is predominantly White (83% of enrollment) (diversity index 31/100).
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 360 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 18.3% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Its district draws 26.9% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
The federal civil-rights collection also records 1 expulsion at this campus for 2021-22.
Abbeville 60 also operates Dixie High (565 students) and Abbeville High (463 students) alongside Cherokee Trail 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 Cherokee Trail Elementary compares
Cherokee Trail 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 | 12.4:1 | ▼ 13% | 14.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 66.4% | ▼ 10% | 74.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 360 | top 76% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.4:1
Leaner classes than 72% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
360
Bigger than 41% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
66.4%
free-lunch eligible
- 10% below 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
12.4:1
students per teacher
- 13% below state mean
Top 26% in South Carolina - lower ratio than 74% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
18.3%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$13,070
per pupil, district-wide
- below South Carolina avg of $14,558
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 360 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
11
in-school suspensions + 24 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 9.7 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
White 82.5%
African American 10.3%
Hispanic or Latino 3.6%
Two or More 3.3%
Asian 0.3%
Largest group: White at 82.5% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 30.6/100
Simpson diversity index - at 30.6, Cherokee Trail 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 Abbeville 60, which includes Cherokee Trail Elementary.
$13,070
Per student
-10%
vs South Carolina
Avg $14,558
-21%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 25.1%
State 48.0%
Federal 26.9%
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 Cherokee Trail Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dixie High | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Abbeville High | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Long Cane Primary | Similar size | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Wright Middle | Similar size | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Westwood Elementary | Similar size | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Cherokee Trail Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 565
- Students per teacher
- 17.7:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
- Enrollment
- 463
- Students per teacher
- 14:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
- Enrollment
- 368
- Students per teacher
- 15.3:1
- Resource Index
- 26/100
- Enrollment
- 323
- Students per teacher
- 10.1:1
- Resource Index
- 51/100
- Enrollment
- 296
- Students per teacher
- 12.3:1
- Resource Index
- 48/100
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 (~360 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~12.4:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Cherokee Trail Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Cherokee Trail Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Abbeville 60'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 Cherokee Trail Elementary
How many students attend Cherokee Trail Elementary?
Cherokee Trail Elementary has 360 students enrolled. It is a public school in Donalds, SC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cherokee Trail Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Cherokee Trail Elementary is 12.4:1, which is 13% lower than the South Carolina average of 14.3:1 and 21% 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 Cherokee Trail Elementary?
66.4% of students at Cherokee Trail Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the South Carolina average of 74.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Cherokee Trail Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Cherokee Trail Elementary is White at 82.5% of enrollment, in Donalds, SC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cherokee Trail Elementary?
Cherokee Trail Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 51/100 (higher 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 Cherokee Trail Elementary a good school?
Cherokee Trail Elementary earns 51/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 74% 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 Abbeville 60?
Besides Cherokee Trail Elementary, Abbeville 60 also operates Dixie High (565 students), Abbeville High (463 students), and Long Cane Primary (368 students). See the Abbeville 60 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.