Enrollment
337
Elementary
DISTRICT 612 · STATE 379
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SCHOOL DISTRICT 27J·NCES 080258000150
South Elementary School
305 SOUTH 5TH AVENUE, BRIGHTON, CO 80601 · (303) 655-2600 · Adams County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL337 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
14.7:1
23 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 22.4:1 · STATE 16.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
85%
288 students
DISTRICT 51% · STATE 50%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 27 | 8% |
| Kindergarten | 48 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 42 | 12% |
| Grade 2 | 68 | 20% |
| Grade 3 | 53 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 46 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 53 | 16% |
This year's kindergarten class (48) is 9% smaller than its 5th grade class (53).
Student demographics
23%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 59% · STATE 62% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
CMAS 2024-25 . % Met or Exceeded ExpectationsEnglish Language Arts
22.1%
CO avg 44.9% . +2.8pp since 2023
Math
16.9%
CO avg 36.1%
What this means: On the CMAS, Colorado's statewide test, about 22 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 17 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Colorado schools, those numbers are about 45 and 36. Reading and writing scores are up about 3 points since 2023.
CMAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 22.1% | 16.9% |
| 2023-24 | 19.3% | N/A |
% Met or Exceeded Expectations, all students and all tested grades.
Source: CMAS. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
17.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
14.9%
based on CO schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+2.7pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 18% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 15% typical for Colorado schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Colorado's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like South Elementary School
South Elementary School's state test result (17.6% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Elementary School this school | 337 | 85.5% | 17.6% |
| Rocky Mountain Elementary School LONGMONT | 315 | 82.9% | 20.8% |
| Community Leadership Academy COMMERCE CITY | 316 | 85.1% | 18.7% |
| Rose Hill Elementary School COMMERCE CITY | 315 | 88.9% | 9.4% |
| Doull Elementary School DENVER | 381 | 85.3% | 31.3% |
| Haskin Elementary School CENTER | 312 | 90.7% | 20.5% |
Matched among Colorado elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where South Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Colorado | In Adams County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 17.6% | #810 of 931 | #61 of 89 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 16.9% | #765 of 940 | #50 of 89 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 22.1% | #787 of 946 ▲ 37 | #59 of 89 ▲ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 337 | #595 of 1,056 | #71 of 97 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.7:1 | #310 of 896 | #13 of 90 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 23.4% | #862 of 896 | #80 of 90 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 85.5% | #90 of 983 | #25 of 91 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -30.2% | #107 of 664 | #9 of 63 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
337
-57 (-14%) vs 2020
-23% since 1990-91, when it was 438
Student : Teacher
14.7:1
was 15.8:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 337 | 23 | 14.7:1 | 85% (288) |
| 2023-24 | 344 | 23 | 15.0:1 | 85% (292) |
| 2022-23 | 370 | 25 | 14.8:1 | 82% (302) |
| 2020-21 | 394 | 25 | 15.8:1 | 63% (250) |
| 2017-18 | 483 | 28.6 | 16.9:1 | 72% (350) |
| 2015-16 | 487 | 29 | 16.8:1 | 72% (352) |
| 2010-11 | 572 | 29 | 19.7:1 | 66% (378) |
| 2000-01 | 505 | 26 | 19.4:1 | 47% (238) |
| 1990-91 | 438 | 23 | 19.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for South Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 30% (483 to 337); teachers down 20% (28.6 to 23).
About South Elementary School
South Elementary School is a public elementary school run by School District 27J in BRIGHTON, Colorado. Students in pre-K through 5 attend the school, which enrolls 337 students.
The 33 schools of School District 27J, including South Elementary School, enroll 24,044 students.
South Elementary School's enrollment is 87% Hispanic. After that, the student body is 10% White. Census figures show Adams County is about 43% Hispanic. The school's diversity index is 23%, meaning two students picked at random have a 23% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
The teaching staff at South Elementary School is 23 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the ratio is 14.7:1. The school has fewer students per teacher than the 16.6:1 average for elementary schools in Colorado. About 85% of students, or 288, qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. That is higher than the 62% average for public schools in Adams County.
Test results at South Elementary School are 2.7 points above what its free or reduced-price lunch share predicts (17.6% actual, 14.9% predicted).
Census estimates describe Adams County this way: the median household income is $94,571, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 29% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 7%. In all, Adams County has 171 public schools and roughly 87,938 students.
The school nearest to South Elementary School is Brighton High School, at a distance of about 0.3 miles. A five-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools. Among the 6 closest schools with test data, this one included, South Elementary School ranks 2nd on average proficiency.
Federal data place South Elementary School in the Suburb: Large locale, which means it is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
South Elementary School's enrollment dropped from 394 in 2020-21 to 337 in 2024-25. In 2020-21, the student-to-teacher ratio was 15.8:1; by 2024-25 it was 14.7:1.
The South Elementary School community page is open for posts about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Adams County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
530,225
Census ACS
Median income
$94,571
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
29%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
171
87,938 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in School District 27J
- Colorado Connections @ 27JCombined · 2,042 students
- Prairie View High SchoolHigh · 1,809 students
- Riverdale Ridge High SchoolHigh · 1,784 students
- Brighton High SchoolHigh · 1,733 students
- Bromley East Charter SchoolElementary · 1,214 students
- Rodger Quist Middle SchoolMiddle · 855 students
Other schools in BRIGHTON
- Horizon High SchoolHigh · 1,966 students
- Brighton High SchoolHigh · 1,733 students
- Bromley East Charter SchoolElementary · 1,214 students
- Foundations AcademyElementary · 763 students
- Elaine S. Padilla Elementary SchoolElementary · 672 students
- Eagle Ridge AcademyHigh · 593 students
Other South Elementary schools
43 other US public schools in 18 states are named South Elementary. South Elementary School is the 26th largest of the 44.
- South Elementary SchoolMIDLAND, TX · 651 students
- South Elementary SchoolDanville, IN · 626 students
- South ElementaryPlymouth, MA · 614 students
- SOUTH ELEM.ELDON, MO · 552 students
- South Elementary SchoolMadison, OH · 506 students
Nearby schools
- Brighton High School0.3 mi · 1,733
- Vikan Middle School0.4 mi · 528
- Innovations & Options0.4 mi · 235
- 27J Online Academy0.5 mi · 336
- Bright Beginnings0.5 mi · 72
- Southeast Elementary School0.8 mi · 527
Frequently asked questions
About South Elementary SchoolHow many students attend South Elementary School?
South Elementary School enrolls approximately 337 students in grades PK-05.
Is South Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
South Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
How many teachers does South Elementary School have?
South Elementary School employs 23 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 14.7:1.
What is the student diversity at South Elementary School?
Student demographics at South Elementary School are roughly 10% White, 87% Hispanic, 1% Black, 0% Asian, 1% Two or more.
Is South Elementary School public or private?
South Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by School District 27J.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.