Southern Wells Elementary School

Southern Wells Elementary School is a middle-of-the-pack elementary campus in Poneto, Indiana, part of Southern Wells Com Schools. The school works with 496 students in grades pre-K through 6.

Southern Wells Com Schools runs 2 schools in total, collectively educating 880 students. Southern Wells Elementary School is one of those campuses.

Looking at the student body, Southern Wells Elementary School logs that nearly all students (95%) are White. Other groups include 4% Hispanic. That mix tracks the wider county fairly closely.

On the income-and-resources front, On paper, Southern Wells Elementary School has 28 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 17.7:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 15.5:1, putting Southern Wells Elementary School higher than the state norm the norm. About 45% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Southern Wells Elementary School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 44.0% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 33.0%.

Zooming out to the county, ACS estimates for Wells County put median household earnings sit near $71,957, roughly 20% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 5%. Across Wells County's 9 public schools (combined enrollment of about 5,106 students), Southern Wells Elementary School is one campus in the mix.

Southern Wells Jr-Sr High School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.0 miles from this campus. Within ten miles, there are 3 other public schools, a sparser pattern than typical urban areas. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Southern Wells Elementary School at 7th of 7; the average score across the group is 39.6%.

Geographically, the school is in an outlying area.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count climbed 3%: 480 students in 2018 compared to 496 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio rose from 16.0:1 in 2018 to 17.7:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, posts here usually surface around science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.