Enrollment
491
South Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 450279000615
Sandhills Elementary — Swansea, SC
Federal NCES profile for Sandhills Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 29/100.
👥 Class size 46
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 2
📋 Attendance 0
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Lexington 04 · South Carolina
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
36.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13.6:1
vs 14.3:1 South Carolina avg
-5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
100.0%
vs 74.0% South Carolina avg
+35% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Sandhills Elementary compares with South Carolina and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Sandhills Elementary reports 491 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 36.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 13.6:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 5% below the South Carolina state mean of 14.3:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 14% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 100.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 35% above the South Carolina average and 93% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 491 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 57.4% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Lexington 04 spends $14,350 per pupil district-wide, below the South Carolina average of $17,182 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 26.9% from local sources (property taxes), 52.6% from the state, and 20.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 29/100 (F), calculated from 4 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Sandhills Elementary compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against South Carolina state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs South Carolina | South Carolina avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 13.6:1 | ▼ 5% | 14.3:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 100.0% | ▲ 35% | 74.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 491 | top 42% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
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
13.6:1
students per teacher
— 5% below state mean
Top 42% in South Carolina — lower ratio than 58% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
57.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$14,350
per pupil, district-wide
— below South Carolina avg of $17,182
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 491 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
34
in-school suspensions + 17 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 6.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 10.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 491 Top 42% in South Carolina — larger than 58% of 1,215 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 36.0
Students per teacher 13.6:1 -5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 100.0% +35% vs state
NCES ID 450279000615
Student demographics
White 48.1%
Hispanic or Latino 27.3%
African American 18.7%
Two or More 5.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 48.1% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 491:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 57.4%
In-school suspensions 34
Out-of-school suspensions 17
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Lexington 04, which includes Sandhills Elementary.
$14,350
Per student
-16%
vs South Carolina
Avg $17,182
-26%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 26.9%
State 52.6%
Federal 20.5%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 695
- Students per teacher
- 13.9:1
- Enrollment
- 515
- Students per teacher
- 14.5:1
- Enrollment
- 509
- Students per teacher
- 13.7:1
- Enrollment
- 495
- Students per teacher
- 13.2:1
- Enrollment
- 495
- Students per teacher
- 15.8:1
Similar elementary schools in Swansea
1 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Sandhills Elementary
How many students attend Sandhills Elementary?
Sandhills Elementary has 491 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Swansea, SC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sandhills Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Sandhills Elementary is 13.6:1, which is 5% lower than the South Carolina average of 14.3:1 and 14% lower than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Sandhills Elementary?
100.0% of students at Sandhills Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the South Carolina average of 74.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sandhills Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Sandhills Elementary is White at 48.1%. The school serves a diverse student body in Swansea, SC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Sandhills Elementary?
Sandhills Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 29/100 (F) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.