The top reported proficiency rate is 64% in Social studies. The lowest is 17% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Brown's Ferry Elementary School for the Creative and Perform
Brown's Ferry Elementary School for the Creative and Perform is a regular public school in Georgetown, South Carolina, serving students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. The school sits in a historic port city that serves as the county seat of Georgetown County. Georgetown has a small population that has declined in recent years; the local economy has long depended on the port, steel manufacturing, and paper production, but a major paper plant closed at the end of 2024, eliminating a large number of jobs. Heritage tourism and retiree settlement have grown as economic drivers. The city is built around a historic downtown grid along the Harborwalk, and the area includes coastal neighborhoods, plantations redeveloped as residential communities, and access to beaches. Housing values in the broader zip code area are moderate relative to the state and national benchmarks, while rents are similarly positioned. The Georgetown County School District, of which Brown's Ferry is a part, has recently transitioned one of its other elementary schools to a digital immersion model, but no comparable change was reported for this school.
Enrollment at Brown's Ferry is small. The student body is predominantly Black or African American, with a smaller share of students who identify as White, two or more races, Hispanic, or American Indian or Alaska Native. Every student in the school qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting a high level of economic need among the families served.
Academic performance data comes from the state's SC Ready assessments for the 2024-25 school year show a mixed picture. In English language arts, a modest share of students scored proficient or above across grades three through five; the rate was roughly two in five for each grade. In math, proficiency was lower, with about one in four students in grades three and four meeting the bar, and a smaller share in grade five. Science results for fourth grade also showed a low proficiency rate. A social studies assessment from a prior school year (2018-19) reported a higher share proficient, but that test and its scoring standards have since been changed, so direct comparison is not meaningful. It is worth noting that South Carolina made changes to the ELA and science cut scores in recent years, which can affect year-to-year comparisons. The school’s proficiency indices could not be compared to other schools in Georgetown County because the county has too few districts to generate a reliable comparison. No chronic absenteeism or graduation data are available, as the school serves only elementary grades; those metrics do not apply.
Because the district does not provide granular program or course access data for this school, families interested in specialized offerings will want to contact the school directly. The school’s name includes the phrase “for the Creative and Perform,” which may indicate a focus or theme, but no magnet designation or program description was available in the data. Similarly, information on discipline, staffing, attendance, and civil rights outcomes is missing—families may wish to ask the school or district for those details.
The housing market in the Georgetown area shows a mix of older historic homes and newer residential developments, with prices that have risen in recent years despite a shrinking city population. The nearby beaches and redeveloped plantations attract some retirement migration, but the closure of a major industrial employer creates uncertainty for the local economy. For a family considering this school, the central questions are likely about the academic support available for students, given the economic disadvantage and test results that suggest room for growth, and about the school’s creative or performing arts emphasis—a topic the available data does not illuminate.
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