Robert Smalls Leadership Academy, Beaufort SC

Original Research by School Decision on Robert Smalls Leadership Academy

Robert Smalls Leadership Academy is a regular public school in Beaufort, South Carolina, serving students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. It is part of the Beaufort 01 school district, which covers the city and surrounding areas of Beaufort County. The school shares its name with the famous Civil War-era hero and congressman, and its program emphasizes leadership development. Because it ends at eighth grade, there is no high school graduation rate to report, and the school does not offer the advanced courses or career pathways typical of a secondary school.

State testing results are available for the 2024-25 school year across math, English language arts, and science for grades three through eight. The picture is uneven. In elementary grades, math proficiency starts at a moderate level in third grade and then drops in fourth and fifth grades. By middle school, the share of students meeting state standards in math is significantly lower, particularly in grades six through eight where fewer than one in five students scored proficient. English language arts tells a different story. The school shows stronger results, with proficiency reaching roughly half of students or nearly half at most grade levels; the strongest performance is in third grade and the weakest in seventh. Science results, available for fourth and sixth grades, are low compared to ELA. Social studies data from 2019, when the school was called Robert Smalls International Academy, showed moderate proficiency in fifth and seventh grades, but those results are older and the test has changed since then. Families should note that South Carolina adjusted its cut scores for ELA and science in recent years, making direct comparisons with prior years difficult.

The school enrolls a substantial number of students. The student body is diverse: a large share of students are Black, a large share are Hispanic, and smaller groups are White, multiracial, and Asian. Every student at the school qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, reflecting the economic profile of the families served. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the provided records, so parents seeking information on special education supports or language services may want to ask the school directly. Information on discipline, chronic absenteeism, and staffing was also missing.

Beaufort is a historic coastal city and county seat, with a strong tourism industry and a significant military presence from nearby Marine Corps installations and a naval hospital. Housing values in the area are above the state median but close to the national average, and rents have been rising. The city’s downtown peninsula features preserved antebellum architecture and a National Historic Landmark District, while outlying areas are more auto-oriented. The school itself is in the Beaufort area, but specific campus location details relative to downtown were not available from the research conducted.

Because this is the only school in its comparison set within the county, the broader academic standing relative to other Beaufort County districts could not be assessed. The district brief found little in the way of recent parent-relevant changes, so no notable policy or facility updates were reported.

Robert Smalls Leadership Academy offers a PK-8 pathway in a community with a rich history and a military- and tourism-driven economy. Its academic strengths are clearer in English language arts than in math and science, and families considering the school may want to follow up on the soft spots in middle school math, as well as on the missing data around special populations and school environment.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 345%

School 45% · District 57% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 427%

School 27% · District 54% · ▼ 27 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Grade 535%

School 35% · District 52% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 616%

School 16% · District 40% · ▼ 24 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 717%

School 17% · District 35% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

Grade 813%

School 13% · District 31% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 355%

School 55% · District 60% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 438%

School 38% · District 63% · ▼ 26 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below county median

Grade 546%

School 46% · District 62% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 641%

School 41% · District 55% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 739%

School 39% · District 58% · ▼ 19 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 844%

School 44% · District 55% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Science

Grade 421%

School 21% · District 48% · ▼ 27 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 632%

School 32% · District 47% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 557%

School 57% · District 68% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 739%

School 39% · District 60% · ▼ 20 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

This schoolBeaufort 01, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 6Lower-income38%Higher-income51%14 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income38%Higher-income45%7 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income40%Higher-income52%12 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income18%Higher-income11%7 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income16%Higher-income21%4 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income7%Higher-income28%21 pp gap