SOUTH ELEM.

SOUTH ELEM. operates as an average-sized elementary campus in JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri, operated by JEFFERSON CITY. Current enrollment sits at 302 students spanning grades K through 5.

JEFFERSON CITY runs 16 schools in total, collectively educating 8,491 students. SOUTH ELEM. is one of those campuses.

In terms of who attends, SOUTH ELEM. lists that the most-represented group is Black (38%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. The remainder is composed of 34% White, 15% multiracial, 7% Asian, 5% Hispanic. The wider county runs roughly 10% Black, putting the school's mix considerably more Black than the area baseline.

On the resource side, On paper, SOUTH ELEM. has 27 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 11.3:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 12.4:1, putting SOUTH ELEM. tighter than the state norm the norm. About 100% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. By comparison, Cole County runs at roughly 47%, so the school's eligibility rate is higher than the surrounding baseline.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), SOUTH ELEM. sits in the top 10% of Missouri schools after the BeatsExpectations adjustment. Predicted proficiency for the school's FRL share is roughly 49.4%; actual is 75.1%, +25.7 points clear of the demographic baseline.

In the surrounding community, ACS estimates for Cole County put median household income runs about $74,876, roughly 39% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 8%. Across Cole County's 28 public schools (combined enrollment of about 10,312 students), SOUTH ELEM. is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is THORPE J. GORDON ELEM., roughly 0.6 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts SOUTH ELEM. at 1st of 7; the average score across the group is 58.9%.

Geographically, the school is in a metropolitan area.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count declined 9%: 333 students in 2018 compared to 302 in 2025. Over the same period, the Black share decreased from 43% to 38%. The student-to-teacher ratio tightened from 13.1:1 in 2018 to 11.3:1 today.

On this page, the feed for SOUTH ELEM. typically covers fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.