SOUTHWEST ELEM.

SOUTHWEST ELEM. is an elementary campus of moderately sized scale in DEXTER, Missouri, operated by DEXTER R-XI, educateing 441 students in grades K through 2. By comparison, Missouri's public schools average about 315 students each, so SOUTHWEST ELEM. sits 40% bigger than that benchmark.

Across the 5 schools in DEXTER R-XI (2,008 students total), SOUTHWEST ELEM. accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Looking at the student body, SOUTHWEST ELEM. reports that 90% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority. Other groups include 4% multiracial, 4% Hispanic. That mix tracks the wider county fairly closely.

Looking at school resources, SOUTHWEST ELEM. lists 39 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 11.3:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 12.4:1, putting SOUTHWEST ELEM. tighter than the state norm the norm. Around 60% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, often used as a Title I proxy.

In the area at large, community-level numbers for Stoddard County indicate median household income runs about $57,957, 17% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 10%. SOUTHWEST ELEM. is one of 23 public schools in Stoddard County (combined enrollment of about 4,712 students).

The closest other public school is SOUTHWEST ELEMENTARY PRESCHOOL, roughly 0.0 miles away. 5 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius.

The school occupies a small-town site.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count fell 17%: 530 students in 2018 compared to 441 in 2025. The White share of enrollment ticked down from 95% to 90% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 13.4:1 in 2018 to 11.3:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, members of the SOUTHWEST ELEM. community share and discuss classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.