The top reported proficiency rate is 80% in Social studies. The lowest is 45% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Henry Timrod Elementary
Henry Timrod Elementary is a regular public elementary school in Florence, South Carolina, serving kindergarten through fifth grade. It belongs to the Florence 01 school district, which was formed in 2022 through a state-ordered consolidation of two former Florence County districts, a restructuring that redrew attendance zones and created a new nine-member elected board. The consolidation is recent enough that families considering the area may want to understand how it has affected school assignments and governance, though the district has been operating under the new structure for several years.
The school sits in a community that functions as the commercial, medical, and industrial hub for the Pee Dee region. Florence has a redeveloping downtown anchored by a performing arts center, a museum, and a major library, but most of the city is car-dependent. The economy is built around healthcare, manufacturing, and distribution, with employers such as McLeod Regional Medical Center, General Electric, Honda, and QVC. Housing values in the school’s ZIP code area are well below both the state and national benchmarks, and rents are comparatively modest, making the neighborhood relatively affordable for families. The local unemployment rate has been stable near the national average.
Henry Timrod enrolls an elementary-sized student body. Every student at the school qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker that the student population is drawn from low-income households. Racially and ethnically, the school is predominantly Black, with a substantial white minority and a smaller share of students who identify as two or more races; Hispanic and Asian enrollment is very small. Data on special education and English learner populations was not available, so a parent may want to ask the school about those supports directly.
State testing results from the most recent school year show a mixed picture. In English language arts, the school’s proficiency rates across grades three through five are solid. More than half of students at each grade level met or exceeded the state standard, with fourth graders performing particularly well. In mathematics, proficiency rates are lower, hovering near half or just below it, with a downward trend as students move from third to fifth grade. Fourth-grade science results follow a similar pattern. An older social studies assessment from before the pandemic showed strong results, but that test and its cut scores have since changed, so it is not directly comparable to current measures.
Because the state changed the ELA and science cut scores in recent years, trend comparisons are not meaningful. Only one year of data is available for the proficiency index, so there is no multi-year trend to assess improvement or decline.
When placed alongside other school districts in Florence County, Henry Timrod’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades sits in the top quartile. That comparison is at the district level, meaning the school’s performance is relatively strong for the region, even though raw proficiency numbers are moderate by a wider state or national lens. A parent should keep in mind that this is a high-poverty school, and research shows that poverty is strongly correlated with average test scores, so the school’s relative position within the county may reflect factors beyond what happens in the classroom.
There is no data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, staffing ratios, or course access; these are gaps a family might want to explore with the school directly. No high school grades are served here, so graduation rate does not apply. The school does not appear to have magnet or charter status, and Title I status was not reported.
Henry Timrod offers a neighborhood elementary option in a more affordable part of Florence, serving a population that is almost entirely low-income. Its academic results are mixed, with reading outcomes that are a relative strength and math outcomes that are softer, and overall performance is above the local county median but modest in absolute terms. A parent considering this school would probably want to visit, ask about how the recent district consolidation has affected the school’s resources and programs, and inquire about supports for students who may be behind grade level in math. The school’s size and setting are typical for a mid-sized Pee Dee elementary school, and its strongest point is that it is serving its students at a level that compares favorably with other schools in the same county, even if the statewide proficiency benchmarks are higher.
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