Southside Middle School

Located at 901 E B Payne Sr Dr, in Tallassee, Alabama, Southside Middle School is a modestly sized middle-grades school that enrolls 424 students (grades 5 through 8), run under Tallassee City.

Across the 3 schools in Tallassee City (1,507 students total), Southside Middle School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On the student-mix side, Southside Middle School shows that 61% of the student body identifies as White. Beyond that, the school shows 26% Black, 8% Hispanic, 4% multiracial. By comparison, Elmore County as a whole is about 73% White, so the school skews visibly less White than its surroundings.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 27 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 15.7:1 students per teacher. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 17.9:1, putting Southside Middle School tighter than the state norm the norm. Roughly 58% of students at Southside Middle School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. By comparison, Elmore County runs at roughly 47%, so the school's eligibility rate is higher than the surrounding baseline.

After controlling for student poverty, Southside Middle School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 41.8% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 42.1%.

In the broader community, the surrounding county (Elmore County) shows that median household earnings sit near $78,243, roughly 25% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 9% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Southside Middle School is one of 26 public schools in Elmore County (combined enrollment of about 13,867 students).

The closest other public school is Tallassee High School, roughly 0.7 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 2 other public schools cluster around Southside Middle School. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Southside Middle School ranks 1st on composite proficiency, above the local average of 33.6%.

Geographically, the school is in a small-town area.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count fell 25%: 565 students in 2018 compared to 424 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 68% to 61% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 18.8:1 in 2018 to 15.7:1 today.

Within the allk12 community for this school, members of the Southside Middle School community share and discuss science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.