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Alumni: what's one memory from Southern Wells Elementary School that still sticks with you?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
496
Elementary
DISTRICT 440 · STATE 436
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SOUTHERN WELLS COM SCHOOLS·NCES 181077001764
Southern Wells Elementary School
9120 S 300 W, Poneto, IN 46781 · (765) 728-2121 · Wells County
GRADES PK–06ELEMENTARY42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL496 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 21% of Indiana public elementary schools
- CTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- DBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Indiana public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
17.7:1
28 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.3:1 · STATE 15.5:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
45%
221 students
DISTRICT 43% · STATE 50%
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
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 33 | 7% |
| Kindergarten | 56 | 11% |
| Grade 1 | 60 | 12% |
| Grade 2 | 63 | 13% |
| Grade 3 | 58 | 12% |
| Grade 4 | 76 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 79 | 16% |
| Grade 6 | 71 | 14% |
This year's kindergarten class (56) is 21% smaller than its 6th grade class (71).
Student demographics
10%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 9% · STATE 57% · 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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Southern Wells Elementary School→Southern Wells Jr-Sr High School
Based on grade levels within Southern Wells Com Schools. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ILEARN 2024-25 . % At or Above ProficiencyEnglish Language Arts
30.5%
IN avg 39.2%
Math
36.9%
IN avg 41.1%
What this means: On the ILEARN, Indiana's statewide test, about 31 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 37 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Indiana schools, those numbers are about 39 and 41.
Source: ILEARN. 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
33.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
44.0%
based on IN schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-11.0pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 33% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 44% typical for Indiana 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 Indiana'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 Southern Wells Elementary School
Southern Wells Elementary School's state test result (33.0% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Wells Elementary School this school | 496 | 44.6% | 33.0% |
| Brookville Elementary School Brookville | 487 | 44.4% | 42.3% |
| Triton Central Elementary School Fairland | 516 | 45.0% | 54.5% |
| North Decatur Elementary School Greensburg | 496 | 43.1% | 57.1% |
| Prairie Heights Elementary School LaGrange | 537 | 43.8% | 41.5% |
| New Market Elementary School New Market | 468 | 43.2% | 48.1% |
Matched among Indiana 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 Southern Wells Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Indiana |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 33.0% | #658 of 983 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 36.9% | #649 of 986 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 30.5% | #667 of 986 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 496 | #390 of 1,079 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.7:1 | #850 of 991 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 9.7% | #955 of 996 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 44.6% | #705 of 1,058 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +3.3% | #281 of 353 |
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
496
+73 (+17%) vs 2020
+1% since 1990-91, when it was 490
Student : Teacher
17.7:1
was 16.3:1
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 | 496 | 28 | 17.7:1 | 45% (221) |
| 2023-24 | 499 | 28 | 17.8:1 | 55% (274) |
| 2022-23 | 509 | 28.5 | 17.9:1 | 54% (273) |
| 2020-21 | 423 | 26 | 16.3:1 | 41% (174) |
| 2017-18 | 480 | 30 | 16.0:1 | 42% (200) |
| 2015-16 | 433 | 26 | 16.6:1 | 35% (150) |
| 2010-11 | 407 | 18 | 22.6:1 | 33% (133) |
| 2000-01 | 462 | 27 | 17.1:1 | 17% (79) |
| 1990-91 | 490 | 28 | 17.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Southern Wells Elementary School.
About Southern Wells Elementary School
Southern Wells Elementary School is a mid-sized elementary school in Poneto, Indiana, one of the schools in Southern Wells Com Schools. The school runs pre-K through 6 and enrolls 496 students.
Southern Wells Elementary School is in Southern Wells Com Schools, a district with 880 students across 2 schools.
White students account for 95% of the school's enrollment. It is also 4% Hispanic. Among Wells County residents, the White share is about 93%. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 10, compared with 70 nationally.
Teacher count: 28 full-time equivalents. Student-to-teacher ratio: 17.7:1. The average for elementary schools in Indiana, 15.5:1, is lower. Roughly 45% of students come from households that qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
On the allk12 Grade, Southern Wells Elementary School lands at C-, ahead of 21% of Indiana public elementary schools.
Schools in Indiana with a similar free or reduced-price lunch share are predicted to score about 44.0%. Southern Wells Elementary School scores 33.0%.
The school's county is Wells County. According to Census Bureau estimates, the median household earns about $71,957 a year, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 20% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 5%. Southern Wells Elementary School shares Wells County with 8 other public schools.
Southern Wells Jr-Sr High School is the nearest public school to Southern Wells Elementary School, less than a tenth of a mile away. Other public schools within ten miles number 3. The school's 33.0% average proficiency ranks 7th among 7 nearby schools.
Federal records code the school's setting as Rural: Distant.
In 2024-25, the school enrolled 496, up from 423 in 2020-21. The school's ratio increased from 16.3:1 to 17.7:1 between 2020-21 and 2024-25.
This community page is for conversations about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies. You can also rate the school on this page.
Wells County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
28,420
Census ACS
Median income
$71,957
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
20%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
9
5,106 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Southern Wells Com Schools
- Southern Wells Jr-Sr High SchoolHigh · 384 students
Nearby schools
- Southern Wells Jr-Sr High School0.0 mi · 384
- Blackford Jr-Sr High School9.8 mi · 651
- Salamonie Elementary School9.9 mi · 273
- Bluffton High School10.1 mi · 507
- Bluffton-Harrison Middle School10.2 mi · 556
- Bluffton-Harrison Elementary Sch10.5 mi · 750
Frequently asked questions
About Southern Wells Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Southern Wells Elementary School?
Southern Wells Elementary School enrolls approximately 496 students in grades PK-06.
Is Southern Wells Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Southern Wells Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades PK-06.
How many teachers does Southern Wells Elementary School have?
Southern Wells Elementary School employs 28 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 17.7:1.
What is the student diversity at Southern Wells Elementary School?
Student demographics at Southern Wells Elementary School are roughly 95% White, 4% Hispanic, 0% Asian, 1% Two or more.
What district is Southern Wells Elementary School in?
Southern Wells Elementary School is part of Southern Wells Com Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.