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Teachers: what resource would make the biggest difference at Southern Elementary School this year?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
542
Elementary
DISTRICT 522 · STATE 421
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PENDLETON COUNTY·NCES 210474001163
Southern Elementary School
320 Fairgrounds Rd, Falmouth, KY 41040 · (859) 654-6981 · Pendleton County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL542 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 19% of Kentucky public elementary schools
- C-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Kentucky public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
14.8:1
37 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.4:1 · STATE 15.4:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
64%
345 students
DISTRICT 59% · STATE 63%
Community
5
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 | 49 | 9% |
| Kindergarten | 89 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 76 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 90 | 17% |
| Grade 3 | 86 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 74 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 78 | 14% |
This year's kindergarten class (89) is 14% larger than its 5th grade class (78).
Student demographics
12%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 10% · STATE 47% · 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
Based on grade levels within Pendleton County. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
KSA (K-PREP) 2024-25 . % Proficient/DistinguishedEnglish Language Arts
35.0%
KY avg 47.9%
Math
33.3%
KY avg 42.8%
What this means: On the KSA (K-PREP), Kentucky's statewide test, about 35 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 33 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Kentucky schools, those numbers are about 48 and 43.
Source: KSA (K-PREP). 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
32.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
41.4%
based on KY schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-8.8pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 33% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 41% typical for Kentucky 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 Kentucky'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 Elementary School
Southern Elementary School's state test result (32.6% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Elementary School this school | 542 | 63.7% | 32.6% |
| North Washington Elementary School Willisburg | 536 | 62.7% | 42.9% |
| East Bernstadt Elementary School East Bernstadt | 544 | 64.2% | 59.8% |
| Crittenden County Elementary School Marion | 614 | 63.4% | 42.1% |
| Prichard Elementary School Grayson | 612 | 64.2% | 47.9% |
| Mckell Elementary School South Shore | 465 | 64.1% | 29.5% |
Matched among Kentucky 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 Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Kentucky |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 32.6% | #525 of 669 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 33.3% | #505 of 668 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 35.0% | #558 of 674 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 542 | #183 of 744 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.8:1 | #347 of 674 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 12.3% | #540 of 674 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 63.7% | #406 of 721 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -1.6% | #406 of 437 |
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
542
+17 (+3%) vs 2020
-27% since 1990-91, when it was 746
Student : Teacher
14.8:1
was 15.0:1
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 | 542 | 36.5 | 14.8:1 | 64% (345) |
| 2023-24 | 578 | 37 | 15.6:1 | 64% (372) |
| 2022-23 | 558 | 43 | 13.0:1 | 67% (375) |
| 2020-21 | 525 | 35 | 15.0:1 | 71% (372) |
| 2017-18 | 551 | 35.5 | 15.5:1 | 75% (415) |
| 2015-16 | 613 | 35 | 17.5:1 | 73% (448) |
| 2010-11 | 652 | 44 | 14.8:1 | 67% (434) |
| 2000-01 | 744 | 32 | 23.3:1 | 59% (436) |
| 1990-91 | 746 | 36 | 20.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Southern Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 2% (551 to 542); teachers up 3% (35.5 to 36.5).
About Southern Elementary School
Southern Elementary School is a medium-sized elementary school in Falmouth, Kentucky, one of the schools in Pendleton County. Its 542 students are spread across pre-K through 5. The typical figure for elementary schools in Kentucky is about 421 students.
Pendleton County is the district for Southern Elementary School. It has 4 schools and 2,130 students.
White students make up 94% of enrollment at Southern Elementary School. The remaining shares are 4% multiracial. The White share in Pendleton County as a whole is similar, at about 93%. Southern Elementary School's diversity index is 12%, against a US figure of 70%.
The ratio of students to teachers is 14.8:1, with 36.5 full-time-equivalent teachers on staff. That matches the 15.4:1 average for elementary schools in Kentucky fairly closely. The percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch is 64%.
allk12 grades Southern Elementary School a C-. The grade compares the school only with Kentucky public elementary schools, because each state gives its own test.
On a poverty-adjusted basis, Southern Elementary School falls in the middle 80% of Kentucky schools: 32.6% actual against 41.4% predicted.
Pendleton County census figures show that the median household income is $64,669, about 15% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 11%. Pendleton County is home to 4 public schools and about 2,130 public school students.
The next-closest public school is Pendleton County High School, about 1.6 miles away. Southern Elementary School is one of several public schools in the area, with 3 others within ten miles. Southern Elementary School ranks 4th of 8 among nearby schools on average proficiency, with 32.6% against a local average of 34.2%.
Locale data from NCES put Southern Elementary School in rural territory some distance from an urban area (Rural: Distant).
Enrollment is up 3% from 2020-21, when Southern Elementary School had 525 students, to 2024-25, when it had 542.
The Southern Elementary School community page is open for posts about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Pendleton County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
14,723
Census ACS
Median income
$64,669
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
15%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
4
2,130 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Pendleton County
- Pendleton County High SchoolHigh · 667 students
- Northern Elementary SchoolElementary · 501 students
- Phillip Sharp Middle SchoolMiddle · 420 students
Other Southern Elementary schools
9 other US public schools in 6 states are named Southern Elementary. Southern Elementary School is the 3rd largest of the 10.
- Southern Elementary SchoolSomerset, KY · 611 students
- Southern Elementary SchoolLexington, KY · 476 students
- Southern Elementary SchoolGeorgetown, KY · 462 students
- Southern Elementary SchoolBeaver Dam, KY · 269 students
- Southern Elementary SchoolNew Castle, DE · 729 students
Nearby schools
- Pendleton County High School1.6 mi · 667
- Phillip Sharp Middle School5.1 mi · 420
- Northern Elementary School8.4 mi · 501
- Williamstown Sr. High12.4 mi · 200
- Williamstown Elementary12.4 mi · 397
- Williamstown Jr. High12.4 mi · 172
Frequently asked questions
About Southern Elementary SchoolHow large is Southern Elementary School?
Southern Elementary School enrolls approximately 542 students in grades PK-05.
Is Southern Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Southern Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
How many students per teacher at Southern Elementary School?
Approximately 14.8:1 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 94% White, 2% Hispanic, 1% Black, 4% Two or more.
Who oversees Southern Elementary School?
Southern Elementary School is overseen by Pendleton County in Pendleton County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.