The top reported proficiency rate is 55% in Social studies. The lowest is 41% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on St. James Santee Elementary-middle
St. James Santee Elementary-Middle is a small, regular public school serving students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade in the rural coastal village of McClellanville, South Carolina. It sits within the Charleston 01 school district but feels worlds away from the suburban and urban schools most people associate with that district. The town itself, a quiet fishing community on the Atlantic coast surrounded by Francis Marion National Forest, has a population that lives off the sea—shrimping, oystering, and fishing. The school is embedded in this village, sharing its character: isolated, tight-knit, and modest in scale.
The student body is small, and the demographics reflect the surrounding community. The majority of students are Black, with smaller shares of White, Hispanic, and multiracial students. Every student in the school qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a measure that signals a high poverty rate across the entire enrollment. That level of economic need, combined with the school’s rural location, defines much of the context a family would experience here. There is no data available on the share of students with disabilities or English learners, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about how those populations are served.
Because St. James Santee only goes through eighth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. State test results are partially available but heavily suppressed due to very small class sizes. In mathematics and English language arts, only fifth-grade proficiency rates are reported, and both sit below the midpoint of what is measured statewide. For every other grade level—third, fourth, sixth, seventh, and eighth—the state suppressed the results because the number of students tested was too small to release. Science and social studies results are similarly limited: only seventh-grade social studies data from several years ago is available, and it too is modest. Looking across all grades that do have reported numbers, the school’s aggregate proficiency in both math and ELA falls within a moderate range, but a parent should treat these figures cautiously given how little of the full picture is visible. The grade span runs from PK through eight, but only grade five produced usable data in recent testing. A family may want to speak with the school about its academic approach in the other grades.
The school’s environment is shaped by the town itself. McClellanville has limited commercial activity, no public transit, and a walkable historic core near Jeremy Creek. The building sits in the village, so elementary and middle school education happens within walking distance for some families. But for high school, students must travel a long drive to Wando High School in North Mount Pleasant, a significant commute. The town has seen little new housing development; recent civic efforts have focused on open-space conservation and historic preservation. Growth is slow, and the area remains oriented toward the fishing economy and the surrounding wildlife refuge and national forest.
No comparison to other schools or districts in Charleston County was possible from the available data, because the grouping yielded only one entity in that set. That means a family considering St. James Santee will need to rely on direct conversations with the school and visits to understand how it fits their child’s needs. No information on programs such as arts, music, or career pathways was provided. The school’s website and district communications may offer more detail. Overall, this is a school for families who want a very small, rural setting where economic need is high, community ties are strong, and academic outcomes are partially obscured by the small numbers. A parent should expect to have an active role in filling in the gaps left by the limited public data.
See more original research from School Decision →