Michael C. Riley Elementary, 200 Burnt Church Road: pre-K to grade 5, 704 students in 2024-25, rated Average (47 points) by the state.

Last checked Oct. 12, 2026. Sources: the school’s website; the Beaufort County School District’s attendance zone maps, 2026-27 academic calendar and school choice page; the S.C. Department of Education’s 2024-25 report card and report card data files; and the federal NCES school directory.

Michael C. Riley Elementary is a Beaufort County School District elementary school at 200 Burnt Church Road. Its early childhood center is at 172 Burnt Church Road, and the district calls the pair Michael C. Riley Elementary School and Early Childhood Center. It earned an Average overall rating on South Carolina’s 2024-25 report card, with a Good rating for student progress. “We are leaders empowering ourselves and others to make our world a better place,” its mission says.

Who to call
Address 200 Burnt Church Road, Bluffton, SC 29910
Phone 843-706-8300
Grades Pre-K to 5
District Beaufort County School District
School hours 7:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.
State school ID 0701017

Principal

Principal Melissa Holland, according to the school’s administration page. The assistant principals are Tracy Grubbs, Gretchen Fritz and Ashley Leonard.

Enrollment and teachers

  • State count: 704 students in the 2024-25 school year, according to the state’s report card.
  • Federal count: 718 students in the 2023-24 school year, with 77 full-time-equivalent teachers, according to the NCES directory. That is about 9 students per teacher.

State report card

South Carolina rates every public school each year as Excellent, Good, Average, Below Average or Unsatisfactory. An Excellent rating means “school performance substantially exceeds the criteria to ensure all students meet the Profile of the SC Graduate,” according to the state’s report card site. The overall rating is built from indicators such as academic achievement, preparing for success, student progress, English learners’ progress and school climate, with graduation rate and college and career readiness added for high schools.

2024-25 rating: Average, 47 points. On the state’s elementary school scale, Excellent 61 to 100, Good 53 to 60, Average 42 to 52, Below Average 34 to 41 and Unsatisfactory 33 and below.

Indicator 2024-25 rating
Academic achievement Average
Preparing for success Below Average
Student progress Good
School climate Below Average

On the spring 2025 SC READY tests in grades 3 to 5, 48.5% of students met or exceeded expectations in English language arts and 38.4% in math; on the state science test, 37.7% did, according to the state’s report card data. Across the district, in grades 3 to 8, the figures were 60.5% in English, 46.4% in math and 49.7% in science.

The full report card, with test results by group, teacher data, school safety and spending, is on the state’s SC School Report Cards site. The state publishes new ratings each fall.

Attendance zone

Check an address on the district’s elementary zone map. On the district’s 2024-25 maps, most of the Michael C. Riley zone lies in the Bluffton Middle and Bluffton High zones, and a smaller part in the H. E. McCracken Middle and May River High zones; check the middle and high school maps for an address.

The district says its maps are for reference only: Bluffton is growing fast, newer streets may not yet appear, and families should always confirm with the school. We did not find a published feeder list on the district’s site, so the pairings above come from laying the district’s elementary, middle and high school zone maps over each other.

Calendar and school hours

Michael C. Riley Elementary follows the district’s 2026-27 calendar. Coming dates from the academic calendar (PDF):

  • Tuesday, Oct. 13: end of the first quarter
  • Tuesday, Nov. 3: Election Day, no school
  • Wednesday, Nov. 11: Veterans Day, no school
  • Nov. 25-27: Thanksgiving break
  • Dec. 23 to Jan. 5: winter break; students return Wednesday, Jan. 6

School hours: 7:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m., according to the school’s website. The early childhood center’s number is 843-707-0800.

Programs

The district lists Leader in Me as Michael C. Riley’s choice program. Pre-K is offered at every district elementary school for children who are 4 on or before Sept. 1, with places going first to the children with the greatest need after a screening, and kindergarten is full day for children who are 5 by Sept. 1, according to the district’s registration page. BCSD Choice programs let county families apply to a program at a school outside their zone; for 2026-27, applications were due Jan. 15, 2026, a lottery decides when a program has more applicants than seats, and the district does not provide buses to an out-of-zone choice school, according to the school choice page.

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Frequently asked questions

What grades does Michael C. Riley Elementary serve?

Michael C. Riley Elementary serves pre-K through fifth grade. Pre-K is for children who are 4 by Sept. 1; kindergarten is full day.

What is Michael C. Riley Elementary’s school rating?

Michael C. Riley Elementary was rated Average, with 47 points on South Carolina’s 2024-25 school report card, the latest the state has published.

Which middle and high school does Michael C. Riley Elementary feed into?

On the district’s 2024-25 zone maps, most of the Michael C. Riley Elementary zone lies in the Bluffton Middle and Bluffton High zones; a smaller part lies in the H. E. McCracken Middle and May River High zones.

What time does Michael C. Riley Elementary start?

The school day runs 7:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m., according to the school’s website.

How do I know if my address is zoned for Michael C. Riley Elementary?

Check the Beaufort County School District’s attendance zone maps, then confirm with the school at 843-706-8300. The district says newer streets may not yet appear on the maps.