Mary Ford Early Learning and Family Center, 3180 Thomasina McPherson Blvd.: pre-K and kindergarten, 244 students in 2024-25.

Last checked Oct. 12, 2026. Sources: the school’s website and administration page; Charleston County School District’s school lookup tool, 2026-27 academic calendar and 2026-27 bell schedule; the S.C. Department of Education’s 2024-25 report card data files; the federal NCES school directory.

The Mary Ford Early Learning and Family Center is a Charleston County School District early learning school on Thomasina McPherson Boulevard for 3- and 4-year-olds and kindergarten. Its students go on to Chicora Elementary for first through fifth grade; in the district’s zone data, the Mary Ford zone is listed as “Mary Ford ES (3K-K5)/Chicora ES (1-5).”

Who to call
Address 3180 Thomasina McPherson Blvd., North Charleston, SC 29405
Phone 843-745-7131
Grades Pre-K to K
District Charleston County School District
School hours 7:25 a.m. to 2:25 p.m.
State school ID 1001040

Principal

Principal Loretta Hart, according to the school’s administration page, where she writes that she has been part of the school community for 16 years.

Enrollment and teachers

  • State count: 244 students in the 2024-25 school year, according to the state’s report card data.
  • Federal count: 259 students in the 2023-24 school year, with 26 full-time-equivalent teachers, according to the NCES directory. That is about 10 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.

Mary Ford serves pre-K and kindergarten, and the state’s 2024-25 report card data list no overall rating for it. Its report card, with enrollment and school information, is linked from the district’s SC report cards page.

Attendance zone

Check an address with the district’s school lookup tool, which the district links from its lookup page. In the zone layers behind that tool, the Mary Ford zone feeds Morningside Middle and then North Charleston High; where a zone is split, the street address decides. We did not find a published feeder list on the district’s site, so these pairings come from the district’s own zone layers, from the 2025-26 school year.

Proposed changes for 2027-28: the district is considering attendance line changes in North Charleston to make room for more 3K and 4K classes, according to its pre-K expansion page. No change has been adopted. The remaining community meetings are at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Malcolm C. Hursey Montessori and 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22, at North Charleston Elementary. The district says the Mary Ford and Chicora zone could grow by up to 80 students between the two schools.

Calendar and school hours

Mary Ford follows Charleston County School District’s 2026-27 calendar. Coming dates from the academic calendar (PDF):

  • Tuesday, Oct. 13: first day of the second quarter
  • Tuesday, Nov. 3: Election Day, schools closed
  • Nov. 23-24: no school; both are weather make-up days if the district needs them
  • Nov. 25-27: fall break
  • Friday, Dec. 18: half day
  • Dec. 21 to Jan. 1: winter break; students return Tuesday, Jan. 5

School hours: 7:25 a.m. to 2:25 p.m., with arrival from 7 a.m., according to the district’s 2026-27 bell schedule (PDF). Early-release days end at 12:25 p.m. and half days at 10:40 a.m.

More

Frequently asked questions

What grades does Mary Ford serve?

Mary Ford serves 3- and 4-year-old pre-K and kindergarten, according to the district’s zone data. Its students go on to Chicora Elementary for first grade.

Which high school does Mary Ford feed into?

In Charleston County School District’s zone layers, the Mary Ford zone feeds Morningside Middle and then North Charleston High, depending on the street.

What time does Mary Ford start?

The school day runs 7:25 a.m. to 2:25 p.m., with arrival from 7 a.m., according to the district’s 2026-27 bell schedule.