Enrollment
808
South Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Pawleys Island, SC
Waccamaw High
Federal NCES profile for Waccamaw High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 52/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 450228001440
👥 S:T ratio 40
📚 AP courses 60
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 46
📋 Attendance 43
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Waccamaw High earns 52/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the South Carolina median.
- #1 of 5
- public schools in Pawleys Island · Resource Index
- 52
- Resource Index · Higher
- 15:1
- students per teacher
- 34.5%
- free-lunch eligible
Waccamaw High has class sizes near the South Carolina median. Computed live against every South Carolina school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Waccamaw High ranks #1 of 5 public schools in Pawleys Island, SC.
School address
District: Georgetown 01 · South Carolina
NCES ID 450228001440 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
54.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15:1
vs 14.3:1 South Carolina avg
+5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
34.5%
vs 74.0% South Carolina avg
-53% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Waccamaw High compares with South Carolina and U.S. medians
What stands out at Waccamaw High
Waccamaw High is a mid-sized high school in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, enrolling 808 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 15:1 puts it in the larger third of South Carolina schools by student-teacher ratio.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 34.5% free-meal eligibility runs 53% below the South Carolina average.
Enrollment of 808 puts it in the larger third of South Carolina schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 1,214 scored South Carolina schools.
Against 129 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #39.
Its student body is led by White (75%) and African American (15%) (diversity index 40/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 12 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 269 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 23.0% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Its district draws 15.5% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Georgetown 01 also operates Georgetown High (918 students) and Georgetown Middle (671 students) alongside Waccamaw 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 Waccamaw High compares
Waccamaw 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 | 15:1 | ▲ 5% | 14.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 34.5% | ▼ 53% | 74.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 808 | top 22% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
15:1
Leaner classes than 47% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
808
Bigger than 86% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
34.5%
free-lunch eligible
- 53% below the South Carolina average of 74.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
15:1
students per teacher
- 5% above state mean
Top 64% in South Carolina - lower ratio than 36% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
23.0%
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
$14,507
per pupil, district-wide
- below 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
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 269 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
77
in-school suspensions + 69 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 9.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 18.1 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
White 75.4%
African American 15.3%
Hispanic or Latino 5.3%
Two or More 3.2%
Asian 0.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Largest group: White at 75.4% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 40.4/100
Simpson diversity index - at 40.4, Waccamaw High is less mixed than the South Carolina school average of 52.7.
Programs
AP courses offered 12
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Georgetown 01, which includes Waccamaw High.
$14,507
Per student
0%
vs South Carolina
Avg $14,558
-13%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 45.1%
State 39.4%
Federal 15.5%
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.
How Waccamaw High Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgetown High | Similar size | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Georgetown Middle | Similar size | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Andrews Elementary | Smaller | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Kensington Elementary | Smaller | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Waccamaw Elementary | Smaller | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Waccamaw High's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 918
- Students per teacher
- 13.5:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
- Enrollment
- 671
- Students per teacher
- 14.3:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
- Enrollment
- 604
- Students per teacher
- 10.6:1
- Resource Index
- 52/100
- Enrollment
- 548
- Students per teacher
- 13.4:1
- Resource Index
- 52/100
- Enrollment
- 543
- Students per teacher
- 16.5:1
- Resource Index
- 49/100
Similar high 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 (~808 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~15:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Waccamaw High's federal record.
- Compare Waccamaw High against another school. Compare schools
- Georgetown 01'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 Waccamaw High
How many students attend Waccamaw High?
Waccamaw High has 808 students enrolled. It is a high school in Pawleys Island, SC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Waccamaw High?
The student-teacher ratio at Waccamaw High is 15:1, which is 5% higher than the South Carolina average of 14.3:1 and 4% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Waccamaw High?
34.5% of students at Waccamaw High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the South Carolina average of 74.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Waccamaw High?
The largest demographic group at Waccamaw High is White at 75.4% of enrollment, in Pawleys Island, SC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Waccamaw High?
Waccamaw High has a Resource Investment Index of 52/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Waccamaw High rank among public schools in Pawleys Island?
By Resource Investment Index, Waccamaw High ranks #1 of 5 public schools in Pawleys Island, SC. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Pawleys Island on the city page.
Is Waccamaw High a good school?
Waccamaw High earns 52/100 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 Georgetown 01?
Besides Waccamaw High, Georgetown 01 also operates Georgetown High (918 students), Georgetown Middle (671 students), and Andrews Elementary (604 students). See the Georgetown 01 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.