South Marshall Elementary School

As a low-enrollment primary school in Benton, Kentucky, South Marshall Elementary School hosts 241 students from grades pre-K through 5, part of Marshall County. Enrollment runs roughly 43% below the state mean of about 421.

Across the 11 schools in Marshall County (4,302 students total), South Marshall Elementary School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On the student-mix side, South Marshall Elementary School records that nearly all students (95%) are White. Other groups include 3% multiracial, 2% Hispanic. That composition is broadly in line with Marshall County as a whole.

In terms of school funding signals, On paper, South Marshall Elementary School has 20 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 12.0:1. The state averages around 15.4:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. About 73% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. That share is noticeably above Marshall County's rate of about 57%.

After controlling for student poverty, South Marshall Elementary School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 38.1%, the actual is 39.7%, a residual of +1.6 points.

Across the wider county, Marshall County reports that the typical household earns roughly $65,831 per year, 21% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 8% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Marshall County's 12 public schools (combined enrollment of about 4,302 students), South Marshall Elementary School is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: South Marshall Middle, around 2.5 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 2 other public schools cluster around South Marshall Elementary School. On composite proficiency, South Marshall Elementary School comes 5th of 7 in the immediate cluster, beneath the nearby-schools average of 46.4%.

The school occupies a rural site.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at South Marshall Elementary School has edged down 26%, going from 324 students in 2018 to 241 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 14.5:1 in 2018 to 12.0:1 today.

On allk12, posts here usually surface around open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.