The top reported proficiency rate is 64% in English language arts. The lowest is 36% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Kensington Elementary
Kensington Elementary is a regular public school in Georgetown, South Carolina, serving students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as part of the Georgetown 01 school district. It operates as a traditional neighborhood school within a small historic port city that functions as the county seat of Georgetown County. Georgetown is a community with a deep history, dating to the colonial era, and its economy has long been tied to the port, steel manufacturing, and paper production. The city has experienced a population decline in recent years, and it faces a significant economic shift with the announced closure of the International Paper plant, a major employer. Heritage tourism and retiree in-migration have been growing parts of the local economy, and the surrounding area includes plantations redeveloped as residential communities.
The school’s academic picture comes from state testing results for the 2024-25 school year, which provide a helpful starting point for a family evaluating the school. In English language arts, Kensington’s students posted proficiency rates that were solid across all three tested grades. Third graders showed a clear majority scoring at or above the proficient level, fourth graders did even stronger, and fifth graders also maintained a comfortable majority. This suggests that reading and writing instruction is a relative strength, and most students are leaving elementary school with a solid foundation in literacy. In mathematics, the results are more mixed. Proficiency in math was lower than in ELA at every grade level, with roughly two in five students meeting the mark. This is a meaningful gap, and a parent may want to ask the school how it supports math learning, whether through intervention programs, curriculum decisions, or professional development. Science is tested only in fourth grade, and that result was weaker still, with about a third of students reaching proficiency. Science assessments in this state underwent some changes that year, so the number may not directly compare with prior years, but it is a soft spot worth inquiry.
Kensington is a Title I school, and a very large share of its students come from low-income households. That context matters when interpreting the test results, as schools serving high-poverty populations often face additional challenges. The student body is majority White, with a substantial Black population and smaller numbers of Hispanic, multiracial, and Asian students. The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to consider, and chronic absenteeism data was not available.
Georgetown’s housing market has seen prices rise in recent years, though the most recent data shows a modest dip. Rents are moderate relative to the national median, and the area is more affordable than the state as a whole. The city has a historic downtown with a waterfront boardwalk, a branch of the county library, and access to the Intracoastal Waterway. Major roads connect Georgetown to Charleston and Myrtle Beach. Coastal Carolina University and Horry-Georgetown Technical College both have a presence in the county, offering some postsecondary connections.
The district itself has made limited publicly reported changes recently. Plantersville Elementary, another school in the district, transitioned to a Digital Immersion School, which signals some district-level investment in technology-infused instruction, but there is no information on whether that initiative affects Kensington directly.
For a family, Kensington Elementary offers a traditional elementary program in a historic small city. The school’s ELA results are a clear strength, while math and science scores leave room for improvement and are worth discussing with administrators. The student population reflects the broader economic challenges of the city, and the community is navigating the loss of a major industrial employer. This is a school that fits a family looking for a neighborhood elementary school in a city with a slower pace, waterfront setting, and growing retiree and tourism presence, but one where academic support in math and science may need to be supplemented at home or through the school’s own resources.
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