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What tradition at Southwest Middle should never be changed?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
486
Middle
DISTRICT 371 · STATE 495
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ALBERT LEA PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 270297000078
Southwest Middle
1601 W FRONT ST, ALBERT LEA, MN 56007 · (507) 379-5240 · Freeborn County
GRADES 06–07MIDDLE33-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL486 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 24% of Minnesota public middle 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.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Minnesota public middle schools
Student : Teacher
14.3:1
34 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.4:1 · STATE 17.5:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
58%
283 students
DISTRICT 63% · STATE 48%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 246 | 51% |
| Grade 7 | 240 | 49% |
Student demographics
63%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 62% · STATE 60% · 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
Southwest Middle→Albert Lea Senior High
Based on grade levels within Albert Lea Public School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
MCA 2024-25 . % Meets or Exceeds StandardsEnglish Language Arts
34.0%
MN avg 49.7%
Math
17.6%
MN avg 45.3%
What this means: On the MCA, Minnesota's statewide test, about 34 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 18 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Minnesota schools, those numbers are about 50 and 45.
Source: MCA. 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
28.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
33.8%
based on MN schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-5.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 28% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 34% typical for Minnesota 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 Minnesota'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 Southwest Middle
Southwest Middle's state test result (28.4% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Middle this school | 486 | 58.2% | 28.4% |
| MARSHALL MIDDLE SCHOOL MARSHALL | 655 | 56.2% | 40.4% |
| I.J. Holton Intermediate School AUSTIN | 712 | 59.0% | 25.2% |
| Ellis Middle AUSTIN | 726 | 58.3% | 23.2% |
| South St. Paul Middle School SOUTH SAINT PAUL | 535 | 64.7% | 29.2% |
| Windom Middle WINDOM | 359 | 49.6% | 31.6% |
Matched among Minnesota middle 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 Southwest Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Minnesota |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 28.4% | #202 of 245 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 17.6% | #216 of 245 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 34.0% | #207 of 245 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 486 | #150 of 306 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.3:1 | #35 of 210 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 62.9% | #63 of 216 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 58.2% | #52 of 252 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +0.8% | #63 of 66 |
Ranked against other public middle 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
486
-45 (-8%) vs 2020
-26% since 1990-91, when it was 658
Student : Teacher
14.3:1
was 15.6:1
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 | 486 | 33.9 | 14.3:1 | 58% (283) |
| 2023-24 | 455 | 32.9 | 13.8:1 | 60% (275) |
| 2022-23 | 474 | 30.1 | 15.8:1 | 62% (293) |
| 2020-21 | 531 | 34 | 15.6:1 | 52% (274) |
| 2017-18 | 482 | 39.5 | 12.2:1 | 48% (230) |
| 2015-16 | 517 | 33 | 15.7:1 | 53% (275) |
| 2010-11 | 457 | 29 | 15.8:1 | 44% (200) |
| 2000-01 | 643 | 36 | 17.9:1 | 29% (184) |
| 1990-91 | 658 | 41 | 16.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Southwest Middle.
Since 2017-18: students up 1% (482 to 486); teachers down 14% (39.5 to 33.9).
About Southwest Middle
Southwest Middle is a middle-grades school in ALBERT LEA, Minnesota, and it is part of Albert Lea Public School District. Enrolled students number 486 students, in grades 6 through 7.
Southwest Middle sits within Albert Lea Public School District, which has 9 schools and 3,335 students.
White students are the majority at Southwest Middle, with 53% of enrollment. Other groups include 27% Hispanic, 12% Asian, 4% Black, and 4% multiracial. The county population is about 84% White. Pick two students at random and there is a 63% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
Federal records show a student-to-teacher ratio of 14.3:1 at Southwest Middle, with 33.9 full-time-equivalent teachers. This ratio sits 3.2 below the 17.5:1 average for middle schools in Minnesota. Free and reduced-price lunch eligibility, a common measure of family income, is 58%.
Measured against Minnesota public middle schools, Southwest Middle receives a C-. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
Based on student poverty, the model expects 33.8% at Southwest Middle; the school's average proficiency rate on state tests is 28.4%.
In the county around the school, Freeborn County, the median household income is $71,023, 18% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 6% of people live in poverty. There are 19 public schools in Freeborn County, enrolling about 4,061 students in all.
The nearest other public school, Sibley Elementary, is less than a tenth of a mile away. There are at least 8 more public schools inside five miles. Of the 6 nearby schools with scores, including this one, Southwest Middle is 4th on average proficiency.
NCES lists the school's locale as Town: Remote. That means it sits in a town far from an urbanized area.
2024-25 enrollment was 486, an 8% decrease from 531 in 2020-21. The ratio was 15.6:1 in 2020-21 and 14.3:1 in 2024-25.
The Southwest Middle community page is open for posts about sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Freeborn County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
30,623
Census ACS
Median income
$71,023
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
18%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
19
4,061 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Albert Lea Public School District
- Albert Lea Senior HighHigh · 1,196 students
- Hawthorne ElementaryElementary · 400 students
- Lakeview ElementaryElementary · 400 students
- Halverson ElementaryElementary · 360 students
- Sibley ElementaryElementary · 275 students
- Albert Lea Area Learning CenterHigh · 113 students
Other schools in ALBERT LEA
- Albert Lea Senior HighHigh · 1,196 students
- Hawthorne ElementaryElementary · 400 students
- Lakeview ElementaryElementary · 400 students
- Halverson ElementaryElementary · 360 students
- Sibley ElementaryElementary · 275 students
- Albert Lea Area Learning CenterHigh · 113 students
Other Southwest Middle schools
14 other US public schools in 10 states are named Southwest Middle. Southwest Middle is the 13th largest of the 15.
- SOUTHWEST MIDDLEORLANDO, FL · 1,290 students
- Southwest Middle SchoolCharlotte, NC · 1,205 students
- SOUTHWEST MIDDLE SCHOOLPALM BAY, FL · 997 students
- SOUTHWEST MIDDLE SCHOOLSEARCY, AR · 913 students
- Southwest MiddleGastonia, NC · 832 students
Nearby schools
- Sibley Elementary0.1 mi · 275
- Lakeview Elementary1.0 mi · 400
- Brookside Early Childhood Sp Ed1.8 mi · 68
- Albert Lea Secondary Online Academy1.8 mi · 37
- Albert Lea Area Learning Center1.8 mi · 113
- Halverson Elementary1.9 mi · 360
Frequently asked questions
About Southwest MiddleHow many students attend Southwest Middle?
Southwest Middle enrolls approximately 486 students in grades 06-07.
Is Southwest Middle an elementary, middle, or high school?
Southwest Middle is a middle school covering grades 06-07.
How many teachers does Southwest Middle have?
Southwest Middle employs 34 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 14.3:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Southwest Middle?
At Southwest Middle, the student body is approximately 53% White, 27% Hispanic, 4% Black, 12% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Who oversees Southwest Middle?
Southwest Middle is overseen by Albert Lea Public School District in Freeborn County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.