FORT MILL, S.C. — Data analyst site Niche released its annual school district rankings and Fort Mill School District has something to brag about.
The district was named No. 1 in The Palmetto State.
"We were very pleased to see the ranking, and very pleased the see our hard work being recognized," Fort Mill chief communications officer Joe Burke told WCNC Charlotte. "It's an impressive goal to reach."
Niche used various parameters to analyze the 80 school districts in South Carolina, including the district's proficiency in reading and math as well as the graduation rate and average SAT and ACT scores. Fort Mill School District received the following letter grades for certain aspects:
- A+: Academics
- A: Teachers
- A: Clubs and Activities
- A: Sports
- A: College Prep
- A: Administration
- A-: Resources and Facilities
- A-: Food
- B+: Diversity
Niche said the school district received a lower letter grade in its diversity category because the student body is made up of 65% white students and 17.7% of the students are on free or reduced lunch.
"We put all of our success on the staff that we've put together," Burke said. "We try to recruit the best teachers and provide the best resources available."
Burke said the district knows the way a district thrives is by focusing on the individual classroom and getting involvement from the parents and students.
"It truly is a full community effort," Burke said. "That's also something we're very proud of even with the growth we've experienced."
That growth is intense, too. Just 13 years ago, the population of Fort Mill was just over 10,000. Now, it's closer to 28,000.
"Our district has been experiencing rapid and record growth for the past decade," Burke admitted. "People move where the best schools are."
However, Burke is confident the school district has called and properly prepared for the continued growth in the Fort Mill area.
According to U.S. News and World Report, the state of South Carolina is No. 44 when it comes to national rankings, but Burke mentioned the Fort Mill School District stacks up against other districts in the country.
"Every state is going to have some districts that don't do as well as others, but we do well in the national rankings as well," Burke said.
U.S. News and World Report ranked Fort Mill High School No. 1,078 and Nation Ford High School No. 1,221 out of 18,000 high schools. The district as a whole came in 235 out of 10,751 American school districts according to Niche.
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