Angel Oak Elementary, Johns Island SC

Original Research by School Decision on Angel Oak Elementary

Angel Oak Elementary sits on Johns Island, a large sea island west of Charleston that blends farm country with fast-growing residential development. The school serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade and is a regular public school within the Charleston 01 district. The island itself is rural and suburban in character, with no traditional downtown; daily life is car-dependent across its broad geography. Growth is a defining feature here—readily apparent in the development pushing into the island—and that context matters for families considering the school.

Academically, Angel Oak’s state testing results offer a mixed but generally solid picture for an elementary school. In English language arts, proficiency rates were consistent across the tested grades, with each grade level showing a majority of students meeting the state’s bar. Math results were a step below, with the highest proficiency in third grade and a gradual decline through fourth and fifth grades. Science, tested in fourth grade, saw just over half of students reach proficiency. One caution: the state changed cut scores in ELA and science in recent years, making year-to-year trend comparisons unreliable for those subjects, and no trend data exists before the current school year, so it is not possible to see whether these results represent an improvement or a decline. Parents may want to ask the school how current performance compares with prior years and what supports are in place for students who need reinforcement in math and science.

The student body is predominantly white, with a substantial Hispanic population and a smaller Black cohort. Every enrolled student qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a circumstance that warrants attention; the school operates in a community where a high share of families face economic pressure, and that reality can shape everything from classroom resources to after-school logistics. The school does not report its special education or English learner counts in the available data, a gap families may want to fill directly.

Housing costs on Johns Island run well above state and national benchmarks, reflecting the area’s desirability and development pressure. Rents also sit high relative to incomes. This is not a low-cost community. A family moving here for the school should expect a tight housing market.

No recent district-level changes of parent relevance—such as bond measures, boundary shifts, or curriculum overhauls—were publicly reported for Charleston 01, so the district context appears stable on the surface.

Angel Oak Elementary is a large school for an elementary, with enrollment spread across all grades from pre-K through fifth. The school is a straightforward neighborhood elementary serving a growing, economically diverse island community. Its academic results are strongest in reading, weaker in math and science, and overall a parent would want to understand the school’s approach to closing that gap. For a family already on Johns Island or considering a move there, Angel Oak is the local option. The bigger question is whether the school’s current performance trajectory and support structures align with a particular child’s needs.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 367%

School 67% · District 63% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Grade 459%

School 59% · District 60% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 557%

School 57% · District 57% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 370%

School 70% · District 65% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 466%

School 66% · District 66%

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 568%

School 68% · District 67%

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Science

Grade 455%

School 55% · District 54% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 562%

School 62% · District 68% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

This schoolCharleston 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 3Lower-income60%Higher-income78%18 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income61%Higher-income70%10 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income47%Higher-income88%41 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income49%Higher-income82%33 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income47%Higher-income69%23 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income41%Higher-income69%28 pp gap