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What's the most underrated thing about Southwest Elementary that outsiders don't know?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
546
Elementary
DISTRICT 526 · STATE 467
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WINSTON SALEM / FORSYTH COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370150000641
Southwest Elementary
1631 Southwest School Drive, Clemmons, NC 27012 · (336) 703-4195 · Forsyth County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL546 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 81% of North Carolina public elementary schools
- ATest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B+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 North Carolina public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
15.0:1
36 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.1:1 · STATE 14.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
38%
206 students
DISTRICT 90% · STATE 82%
Community
1
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 | 21 | 4% |
| Kindergarten | 80 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 74 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 76 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 100 | 18% |
| Grade 4 | 79 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 116 | 21% |
This year's kindergarten class (80) is 31% smaller than its 5th grade class (116).
Student demographics
55%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 72% · STATE 71% · 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
Test scores
NC EOG / EOC 2024-25 . % Grade Level Proficient (Level 3+)English Language Arts
73.0%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
76.4%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 73 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 76 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all North Carolina schools, those numbers are about 51 and 52.
Source: NC EOG / EOC. 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
74.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
67.3%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+7.4pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 75% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 67% typical for North Carolina 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 North Carolina'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 Elementary
Southwest Elementary's state test result (74.7% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Elementary this school | 546 | 37.7% | 74.7% |
| Catawba Springs Elementary Denver | 543 | 34.4% | 74.6% |
| New Hope Elementary Gastonia | 571 | 34.3% | 73.0% |
| Friendship Elementary Winston-Salem | 470 | 43.0% | 69.6% |
| Heyward C Bellamy Elem Wilmington | 533 | 41.1% | 78.8% |
| Lincoln Heights Elementary Fuquay-Varina | 667 | 35.8% | 66.8% |
Matched among North Carolina 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 Southwest Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Forsyth County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 74.7% | #140 of 1,297 | #9 of 42 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 76.4% | #181 of 1,296 | #10 of 42 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 73.0% | #96 of 1,300 | #7 of 42 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 546 | #478 of 1,485 | #22 of 47 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.0:1 | #756 of 1,377 | #36 of 44 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 55.0% | #870 of 1,379 | #33 of 45 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 37.7% | #1,238 of 1,414 | #40 of 44 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -12.6% | #489 of 937 | #21 of 32 |
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
546
+7 (+1%) vs 2020
-29% since 1990-91, when it was 770
Student : Teacher
15.0:1
was 14.6:1
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 | 546 | 36.4 | 15.0:1 | 38% (206) |
| 2023-24 | 513 | 35.9 | 14.3:1 | 37% (192) |
| 2022-23 | 523 | 36 | 14.5:1 | 39% (202) |
| 2020-21 | 539 | 37 | 14.6:1 | 22% (119) |
| 2017-18 | 625 | 42 | 14.9:1 | 30% (187) |
| 2015-16 | 615 | 38 | 16.2:1 | 36% (224) |
| 2010-11 | 965 | 62 | 15.6:1 | 32% (308) |
| 2000-01 | 690 | 75 | 9.2:1 | 15% (104) |
| 1990-91 | 770 | 46 | 16.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Southwest Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 13% (625 to 546); teachers down 13% (42 to 36.4).
About Southwest Elementary
Southwest Elementary operates as a medium-sized elementary school in Clemmons, North Carolina. Enrollment is 546 students in 2024-25, and the school serves pre-K through 5.
Southwest Elementary reports to Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools, which has 79 schools and 51,745 students.
Southwest Elementary's enrollment is 64% White. The next largest groups are 12% Hispanic, 10% Black, 8% multiracial, and 5% Asian. In Forsyth County overall, about 56% of residents are White. The chance that two students picked at random at Southwest Elementary belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 55%.
Staffing totals 36.4 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the student-to-teacher ratio is 15.0:1. Elementary schools in North Carolina have a similar average ratio of 14.9:1. A measure often used for student poverty, free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, stands at 38%. The gap from the 88% average for public schools in Forsyth County is 50 points.
allk12 grades Southwest Elementary an A-. The grade compares the school only with North Carolina public elementary schools, because each state gives its own test.
A school with Southwest Elementary's lunch-eligibility share in North Carolina is predicted to score 67.3%. Southwest Elementary scores 74.7%, 7.4 points above that line.
Census Bureau estimates for Forsyth County show that median household income is about $67,165, roughly 39% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 10% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Southwest Elementary is one of 88 public schools in Forsyth County, which together enroll about 55,902 students.
Of nearby public schools, West Forsyth High is the closest, at about 0.4 miles. The count of other public schools within five miles is at least 8. Among its closest neighbors with test data, Southwest Elementary is 4th of 9 on proficiency.
In the federal locale system, Southwest Elementary is coded Suburb: Large, for schools in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
The student count changed little between 2020-21 (539) and 2024-25 (546).
The discussion area below is open to posts about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Forsyth County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
389,977
Census ACS
Median income
$67,165
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
39%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
88
55,902 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools
- West Forsyth HighHigh · 2,145 students
- Ronald W Reagan High SchoolHigh · 2,122 students
- R J Reynolds HighHigh · 1,759 students
- East Forsyth HighHigh · 1,647 students
- Parkland HighHigh · 1,569 students
- Mount Tabor High SchoolHigh · 1,426 students
Other schools in Clemmons
- West Forsyth HighHigh · 2,145 students
- Clemmons ElementaryElementary · 839 students
- Frank Morgan ElementaryElementary · 761 students
Other Southwest Elementary schools
21 other US public schools in 14 states are named Southwest Elementary. Southwest Elementary is the 8th largest of the 22.
- Southwest ElementaryHigh Point, NC · 808 students
- Southwest ElementaryJacksonville, NC · 720 students
- Southwest ElementaryDurham, NC · 639 students
- SOUTHWEST ELEMENTARY SCHOOLBAY SHORE, NY · 975 students
- Southwest Elementary SchoolSavannah, GA · 769 students
Nearby schools
- West Forsyth High0.4 mi · 2,145
- Meadowlark Middle2.4 mi · 857
- Meadowlark Elementary2.5 mi · 827
- Frank Morgan Elementary2.6 mi · 761
- Lewisville Elementary2.7 mi · 591
- Clemmons Elementary3.0 mi · 839
Frequently asked questions
About Southwest ElementaryHow large is Southwest Elementary?
Southwest Elementary enrolls approximately 546 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does Southwest Elementary serve?
Southwest Elementary serves grades PK-05.
How many students per teacher at Southwest Elementary?
Approximately 15.0:1 students per teacher at Southwest Elementary.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Southwest Elementary?
At Southwest Elementary, the student body is approximately 64% White, 12% Hispanic, 10% Black, 5% Asian, 8% Two or more.
What district is Southwest Elementary in?
Southwest Elementary is part of Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.