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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Southwest Elementary?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
720
Elementary
DISTRICT 576 · STATE 467
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ONSLOW COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370345001233
Southwest Elementary
2601 Burgaw Hwy, Jacksonville, NC 28540 · (910) 347-0900 · Onslow County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL720 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 44% of North Carolina public elementary schools
- BTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- CBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
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
14.1:1
51 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.2:1 · STATE 14.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
60%
435 students
DISTRICT 52% · 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 | 40 | 6% |
| Kindergarten | 124 | 17% |
| Grade 1 | 101 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 120 | 17% |
| Grade 3 | 115 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 116 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 104 | 14% |
This year's kindergarten class (124) is 19% larger than its 5th grade class (104).
Student demographics
57%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 64% · 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
54.5%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
57.6%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 55 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 58 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
57.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
60.4%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-3.0pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 57% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 60% 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 (57.4% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Elementary this school | 720 | 60.4% | 57.4% |
| Elkin Elementary Elkin | 673 | 58.2% | 56.8% |
| Iredell Charter Academy of Arts &Science Troutman | 795 | 55.3% | N/A |
| Morton Elementary Jacksonville | 715 | 59.9% | 59.0% |
| Meadow View Elementary Jacksonville | 520 | 61.2% | 51.9% |
| Sand Ridge Elementary Hubert | 527 | 62.0% | 65.0% |
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 Onslow County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 57.4% | #587 of 1,297 | #9 of 22 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 57.6% | #679 of 1,296 | #10 of 22 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 54.5% | #467 of 1,300 | #11 of 22 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 720 | #157 of 1,485 | #3 of 23 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.1:1 | #508 of 1,377 | #9 of 22 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 57.3% | #797 of 1,379 | #15 of 22 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 60.4% | #1,111 of 1,414 | #11 of 23 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -16.5% | #367 of 937 | #10 of 16 |
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
720
+82 (+13%) vs 2020
-14% since 2000-01, when it was 838
Student : Teacher
14.1:1
was 14.5:1
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 | 720 | 51 | 14.1:1 | 60% (435) |
| 2023-24 | 740 | 54 | 13.7:1 | 59% (440) |
| 2022-23 | 742 | 52 | 14.3:1 | 58% (428) |
| 2020-21 | 638 | 44 | 14.5:1 | 47% (302) |
| 2017-18 | 862 | 53.5 | 16.1:1 | 48% (418) |
| 2015-16 | 782 | 53 | 14.8:1 | 55% (429) |
| 2010-11 | 805 | 44 | 18.3:1 | 48% (385) |
| 2000-01 | 838 | 52 | 16.1:1 | 59% (493) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Southwest Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 16% (862 to 720); teachers down 5% (53.5 to 51).
About Southwest Elementary
In Jacksonville, North Carolina, Southwest Elementary is a large elementary school. Enrollment in 2024-25 was 720 students in pre-K through 5. Against the 467-student average for elementary schools in North Carolina, enrollment here is 54% higher.
Onslow County Schools counts 27,397 students in its 39 schools, and Southwest Elementary is one of them.
White students account for 61% of enrollment at Southwest Elementary. Other groups make up 18% Hispanic, 11% Black, and 9% multiracial. The chance that two students picked at random at Southwest Elementary belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 57%.
Staffing totals 51 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the student-to-teacher ratio is 14.1:1. That ratio is under the 14.9:1 average for elementary schools in North Carolina. The free or reduced-price lunch rate at Southwest Elementary is 60%. The 51% average for public schools in Onslow County is 9 points lower.
The allk12 Grade for Southwest Elementary is C+. Compared with North Carolina public elementary schools, the school scored higher than 44% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
When test results are adjusted for free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, Southwest Elementary is 3.0 points below its prediction. Actual: 57.4%. Predicted: 60.4%.
Southwest Elementary is located in Onslow County, where median household income is about $68,148, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 26%, and about 9% of people live in poverty. Southwest Elementary is one of 42 public schools in Onslow County, which together enroll about 27,501 students.
Of nearby public schools, Meadow View Elementary is the closest, at about 2.7 miles. There are 5 more public schools inside five miles. Southwest Elementary ranks 2nd of 8 among nearby schools on average proficiency, with 57.4% against a local average of 49.0%.
The National Center for Education Statistics classifies the school's location as Rural: Fringe, meaning it is in rural territory close to an urban area.
Southwest Elementary saw enrollment rise 13% between 2020-21 and 2024-25.
Topics for discussion here include school safety, transportation, and start times. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Onslow County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
207,906
Census ACS
Median income
$68,148
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
26%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
42
27,501 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Onslow County Schools
- Jacksonville HighHigh · 1,441 students
- White Oak HighHigh · 1,252 students
- Swansboro HighHigh · 1,232 students
- Dixon HighHigh · 1,085 students
- Northside HighHigh · 1,067 students
- Swansboro MiddleMiddle · 1,052 students
Other schools in Jacksonville
- Jacksonville HighHigh · 1,441 students
- White Oak HighHigh · 1,252 students
- Northside HighHigh · 1,067 students
- Jacksonville Commons MiddleMiddle · 918 students
- Hunters Creek MiddleMiddle · 856 students
- Southwest HighHigh · 803 students
Other Southwest Elementary schools
21 other US public schools in 14 states are named Southwest Elementary. Southwest Elementary is the 5th largest of the 22.
- Southwest ElementaryHigh Point, NC · 808 students
- Southwest ElementaryDurham, NC · 639 students
- Southwest ElementaryClemmons, NC · 546 students
- SOUTHWEST ELEMENTARY SCHOOLBAY SHORE, NY · 975 students
- Southwest Elementary SchoolSavannah, GA · 769 students
Nearby schools
- Meadow View Elementary2.7 mi · 520
- Southwest High2.7 mi · 803
- Southwest Middle2.8 mi · 510
- Blue Creek Elementary3.1 mi · 498
- Onslow Virtual School4.5 mi · 421
- Clear View Elementary5.0 mi · 535
Frequently asked questions
About Southwest ElementaryHow large is Southwest Elementary?
Southwest Elementary enrolls approximately 720 students in grades PK-05.
Is Southwest Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
Southwest Elementary is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
How many teachers does Southwest Elementary have?
Southwest Elementary employs 51 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 14.1:1.
What is the student diversity at Southwest Elementary?
Student demographics at Southwest Elementary are roughly 61% White, 18% Hispanic, 11% Black, 9% Two or more.
What district is Southwest Elementary in?
Southwest Elementary is part of Onslow County Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.