Southern School of Energy and Sustainabi

Southern School of Energy and Sustainabi is one of the big senior highs in Durham, North Carolina, one of the schools within Durham Public Schools, with 1,384 students on its rolls from grades 9 through 12. Enrollment runs roughly 82% bigger than the state mean of about 761.

Durham Public Schools runs 55 schools in total, collectively educating 31,797 students. Southern School of Energy and Sustainabi is one of those campuses.

Looking at the student body, Southern School of Energy and Sustainabi reports that the largest single group is Hispanic at 48%, but no single group is in the majority; the rest consists of 45% Black, 3% multiracial, 2% White. By comparison, Durham County as a whole is about 16% Hispanic, so the school skews visibly more Hispanic than its surroundings.

In terms of school funding signals, The school employs 65 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 21.2:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 19.6:1 average. Roughly 100% of students at Southern School of Energy and Sustainabi qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Southern School of Energy and Sustainabi falls in the UNDERPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations residual. Given its student profile, a typical campus would land near 48.4%; this one comes in at 23.1%, -25.2 points off the demographic line.

In the surrounding community, the surrounding county (Durham County) shows that median household income runs about $82,316, 55% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 8%. Southern School of Energy and Sustainabi is one of 74 public schools in Durham County (combined enrollment of about 46,109 students).

Merrick-Moore Elementary is the nearest neighboring public school, about 1.3 miles from this campus. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Among the 5 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Southern School of Energy and Sustainabi ranks 4th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 45.9%.

Geographically, the school is in a downtown area.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Southern School of Energy and Sustainabi has edged down 3%, going from 1,429 students in 2018 to 1,384 in 2025. Hispanic enrollment moved from 35% to 48% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio widened from 16.6:1 in 2018 to 21.2:1 today.

On the community side, posts here usually surface around classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. The community welcomes input from current and former families.