1
What's the vibe like in the hallways at SOUTHSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL right now?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
696
Elementary
DISTRICT 599 · STATE 604
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SARASOTA·NCES 120168001848
SOUTHSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
1901 WEBBER ST, SARASOTA, FL 34239 · (941) 361-6420 · Sarasota County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY13-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL696 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
15.1:1
46 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.5:1 · STATE 17.5:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
22%
154 students
DISTRICT 46% · STATE 50%
Community
3
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade
Student demographics
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
FAST / B.E.S.T. 2024-25 . % at Level 3 or AboveEnglish Language Arts
85.5%
FL avg 56.7% . -3.6pp since 2023
Math
91.2%
FL avg 58.9% . -1.6pp since 2023
What this means: On the FAST / B.E.S.T., Florida's statewide test, about 86 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 91 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Florida schools, those numbers are about 57 and 59. Reading and writing scores are down about 4 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 2 points.
Source: FAST / B.E.S.T.. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of FL schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
89.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
70.1%
based on FL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+19.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 89% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 70% typical for Florida schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 19 points, placing it in Florida's top 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
696
-71 (-9%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
15.1:1
was 13.9:1
% White
76%
was 78%
% Hispanic
13%
was 13%
% Black
3%
was 1%
% Asian
2%
was 2%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
About SOUTHSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Set in SARASOTA, Florida, SOUTHSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is a mid-sized K-5 school, one of the schools within SARASOTA. It teaches 696 students across grades K through 5.
SOUTHSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is one of 60 schools operated by SARASOTA, a district that enrolls 45,246 students overall.
In terms of who attends, SOUTHSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL records that the largest single group is White, at 76% of enrollment. Other groups include 13% Hispanic, 7% multiracial, 3% Black, 2% Asian.
On the resource side, The school currently runs with 46 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 15.1:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 17.5:1, putting SOUTHSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL tighter than the state norm the norm. An estimated 22% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. Set against Sarasota County (around 44%), the school's rate is somewhat below typical.
On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), SOUTHSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is in the OUTPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations model, which fits a per-state line through proficiency and FRL share. Schools with this campus's poverty mix typically land near 70.1%; this one delivers 89.2%, a residual of +19.1 points.
Around the school, community-level numbers for Sarasota County indicate median household earnings sit near $83,416, 41% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 6%. In all, Sarasota County runs 63 public schools (combined enrollment of about 45,253 students), of which SOUTHSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is one.
Nearest neighbor: BROOKSIDE MIDDLE SCHOOL, around 0.7 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), SOUTHSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ranks 1st on composite proficiency, ahead of the local average of 56.0%.
The school occupies a city-core site.
Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at SOUTHSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL has shrank 9%, going from 767 students in 2018 to 696 in 2025. Class-load math has rose: from 13.9:1 in 2018 to 15.1:1 in 2025.
In the discussion threads here, the feed for SOUTHSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL typically covers classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. The community welcomes input from current and former families.
Sarasota County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
459,547
Census ACS
Median income
$83,416
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
41%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
63
45,253 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in SARASOTA
- RIVERVIEW HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,637 students
- VENICE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,579 students
- NORTH PORT HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,557 students
- SARASOTA HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,359 students
- PINE VIEW SCHOOLCombined · 1,752 students
- BOOKER HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 1,479 students
Other schools in SARASOTA
- RIVERVIEW HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,637 students
- SARASOTA HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,359 students
- BOOKER HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 1,479 students
- SARASOTA MIDDLE SCHOOLMiddle · 1,290 students
- SARASOTA MILITARY ACADEMYHigh · 997 students
- ASHTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOLElementary · 964 students
Nearby schools
- BROOKSIDE MIDDLE SCHOOL0.7 mi · 724
- SARASOTA HIGH SCHOOL1.1 mi · 2,359
- ALTA VISTA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL1.3 mi · 453
- SUNCOAST SCHOOL FOR INNOVATIVE STUDIES1.3 mi · 96
- PHILLIPPI SHORES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL1.6 mi · 696
- RIVERVIEW HIGH SCHOOL2.0 mi · 2,637
Frequently asked questions
About SOUTHSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLHow many students attend SOUTHSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
SOUTHSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL enrolls approximately 696 students in grades KG-05.
Is SOUTHSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL an elementary, middle, or high school?
SOUTHSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is an elementary school covering grades KG-05.
How many teachers does SOUTHSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL have?
SOUTHSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL employs 46 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 15.1:1.
What is the student diversity at SOUTHSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
Student demographics at SOUTHSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL are roughly 76% White, 13% Hispanic, 3% Black, 2% Asian, 7% Two or more.
Who oversees SOUTHSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
SOUTHSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is overseen by SARASOTA in Sarasota County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.