Tega Cay Elementary, Tega Cay SC

Original Research by School Decision on Tega Cay Elementary

Tega Cay Elementary is a regular public school serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade within the York 04 school district, which is often referred to as Fort Mill Schools. The school sits in Tega Cay, a master-planned residential community on a Lake Wylie peninsula that functions as a Charlotte suburb. This is an elementary school only, so there is no graduation rate to report and no high school course access data to examine.

Academically, Tega Cay Elementary posted strong results on the state’s SC Ready assessments. In math, proficiency across the tested grades was solid, with the large majority of students meeting or exceeding standards. In English language arts, performance was even stronger, with the highest proficiency occurring among fifth graders. Fourth-grade science results were also high, with most students reaching proficiency. A single social studies score from several years ago showed nearly universal proficiency, but that data point is old and from a different assessment, so it has limited relevance to current families. When compared against other districts in York County, Tega Cay Elementary landed in the top tier on an overall proficiency index, a clear strength.

The student body is large for an elementary school and reflects the area’s demographics. The share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch is low, indicating a relatively affluent community. Racially, the school is predominantly white, with notable Asian and Hispanic populations and smaller shares of Black students and students of two or more races. Data on special education identification and English learner status were not reported, which is a gap a parent may want to follow up on with the school.

Tega Cay itself is a planned community built around recreation: a golf course, lake access, parks, and walking trails. The terrain is hilly and wooded, and the built environment is car-oriented. There is no traditional downtown, though a new mixed-use development called The Grove broke ground recently and aims to create a civic and commercial center. The city has experienced rapid population growth over the past decade, but future expansion is constrained by the Catawba River and Lake Wylie, so new development is increasingly infill. Housing values in the area are well above state and national benchmarks, and rents are correspondingly high, consistent with a desirable lakeside suburb near Charlotte’s employment centers.

The district context matters for families considering this school. York 04 has been the fastest-growing district in South Carolina, and voters recently approved a bond referendum to fund construction of a new elementary school, a new middle school, and facility upgrades across the district, with the district stating it would not raise property taxes. The district has also conducted redistricting to balance enrollment across its schools, which means attendance boundaries can shift as new schools open. A family moving into Tega Cay should be aware that the specific elementary school their child attends may change if boundaries are adjusted, though the district is actively building capacity to handle the growth.

Because this is a regular elementary school serving only primary grades, there are no career pathway programs, AP courses, or high school outcomes to evaluate. The school’s core strength is its consistently strong academic performance, particularly in literacy, and its location in a fast-growing, affluent lake community with access to outdoor amenities. Parents who value high proficiency rates and a low-poverty student environment will find that profile here. Those wanting information about special education services, English learner supports, or school climate measures will need to ask the school directly, as those data were not available.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 380%

School 80% · District 77% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Grade 484%

School 84% · District 76% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 33 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Grade 574%

School 74% · District 66% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 29 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 387%

School 87% · District 84% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Grade 490%

School 90% · District 83% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Grade 592%

School 92% · District 83% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Science

Grade 479%

School 79% · District 70% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 599%

School 99% · District 91% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

This schoolYork 04, 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-income81%Higher-income89%8 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income67%Higher-income83%16 pp gap