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Schools›Delaware›New Castle
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·COLONIAL SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 100023000118

Southern Elementary School

795 Cox Neck Road, New Castle, DE 19720 · (302) 832-6300 · New Castle County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY41-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL729 STUDENTS
Enrollment
729
Elementary
DISTRICT 476 · STATE 461
Student : Teacher
12.8:1
57 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.9:1 · STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
,
Title I proxy
Community
6
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

GradeStudentsShare
Kindergarten11015%
Grade 113218%
Grade 210715%
Grade 313819%
Grade 411816%
Grade 512417%

This year's kindergarten class (110) is 11% smaller than its 5th grade class (124).

Student demographics
62%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 68% · STATE 71% · US 70%
White
25134%
DISTRICT 22% · STATE 38% · US 43%
Hispanic
689%
DISTRICT 24% · STATE 20% · US 30%
Black
36250%
DISTRICT 46% · STATE 31% · US 15%
Asian
162%
DISTRICT 2% · STATE 4% · US 6%
Two+
294%
DISTRICT 5% · STATE 6% · US 5%
Native American
10%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 0% · US 1%
Pacific Islander
20%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 0% · US 0%
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
Male
44261%
Female
28739%

Discussions

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Test scores

DeSSA + SBAC 2024-25 . % Proficient
English Language Arts
20.3%
DE avg 41.4% . +0.6pp since 2023
Math
20.9%
DE avg 34.0% . +1.5pp since 2023

What this means: On the DeSSA + SBAC, Delaware's statewide test, about 20 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 21 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Delaware schools, those numbers are about 41 and 34. Reading and writing scores have held steady since 2023, while math scores are up about 2 points.

DeSSA + SBAC results by year

School yearEnglish Language ArtsMath
2024-2520.3%20.9%
2023-2419.7%19.4%
% Proficient, all students and all tested grades.
Source: DeSSA + SBAC. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →

Where Southern Elementary School ranks

Among elementary schools
MeasureThis schoolIn DelawareIn New Castle County
Math proficiency
ranked highest first
20.9%#89 of 108
▼ 2
#48 of 62
▼ 4
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
20.3%#99 of 108
▼ 3
#54 of 62
▼ 4
Enrollment
ranked largest first
729#12 of 127#7 of 72
Students per teacher
ranked fewest first
12.8:1#34 of 119#24 of 67
Diversity index
ranked most diverse first
62.4%#68 of 120#40 of 68
Enrollment change since 2017-18
ranked steepest decline first
-13.0%#40 of 78#28 of 50
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 2024-25
Enrollment
729
-95 (-12%) vs 2020
-22% since 2010-11, when it was 929
Student : Teacher
12.8:1
was 11.9:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree and reduced lunch
2024-257295712.8:1N/A
2023-247436112.2:1N/A
2022-237376211.9:1N/A
2020-218246911.9:1N/A
2017-188386413.1:1N/A
2015-168786413.7:140% (353)
2010-119295616.6:143% (398)
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Southern Elementary School.

Since 2017-18: students down 13% (838 to 729); teachers down 11% (64 to 57).

About Southern Elementary School

A large elementary school in New Castle, Delaware, Southern Elementary School is part of Colonial School District. The school enrolls 729 students in kindergarten through 5. That compares with an average of about 461 students for elementary schools in Delaware.

Federal data list 14 schools in Colonial School District, with 8,575 students enrolled.

The student body at Southern Elementary School has no majority group. Black students lead at 50%. Enrollment also includes 34% White, 9% Hispanic, 4% multiracial, and 2% Asian. The school's Black share is 24 points above the 26% share among New Castle County residents. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 62%.

There are 57 full-time-equivalent teachers at the school, a ratio of 12.8:1. Across elementary schools in Delaware, the average ratio is 13.9:1.

For the population of New Castle County, the median household earns about $91,166 a year, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 40% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 7%. Southern Elementary School shares New Castle County with 128 other public schools.

Bedford (Gunning) Middle School, about 0.2 miles away, is the closest public school. Other public schools within five miles number 5.

Southern Elementary School is coded as Rural: Fringe in federal locale data.

A 12% decline took enrollment from 824 in 2020-21 to 729 in 2024-25.

This page collects posts and questions about Southern Elementary School, such as athletics, class schedules, and weather closures. Members of the school community can share what they know.

New Castle County at a glance

View full county profile
Population
577,961
Census ACS
Median income
$91,166
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
40%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
129
78,534 students

Quick facts

School name
Southern Elementary School
District
Colonial School District
Address
795 Cox Neck Road, New Castle, DE 19720
Phone
(302) 832-6300
County
New Castle County
Level
Elementary
Grade range
KG–05
Total enrollment
729
Teachers (FTE)
57
Student–teacher ratio
12.8:1
Locale
41-Rural: Fringe
NCES ID
100023000118
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in Colonial School District
Other schools in New Castle
Other Southern Elementary schools

9 other US public schools in 6 states are named Southern Elementary. Southern Elementary School is the largest of the 10.

Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About Southern Elementary School
How many students attend Southern Elementary School?
Southern Elementary School enrolls approximately 729 students in grades KG-05.
Is Southern Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Southern Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades KG-05.
How many students per teacher at Southern Elementary School?
Approximately 12.8:1 students per teacher at Southern Elementary School.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Southern Elementary School?
At Southern Elementary School, the student body is approximately 34% White, 9% Hispanic, 50% Black, 2% Asian, 4% Two or more.
What district is Southern Elementary School in?
Southern Elementary School is part of Colonial School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
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