Enrollment
218
Elementary
DISTRICT 455 · STATE 467
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LENOIR COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 370261001095
Southwood Elementary
1245 Hwy 58 South, Kinston, NC 28504 · (252) 527-9081 · Lenoir County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL218 STUDENTS
B
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 58% of North Carolina public elementary schools
- B-Test 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.
- ·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
11.5:1
19 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.6:1 · STATE 14.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
99%
215 students
DISTRICT 99% · STATE 82%
Community
0
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 | 18 | 8% |
| Kindergarten | 26 | 12% |
| Grade 1 | 38 | 17% |
| Grade 2 | 35 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 34 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 36 | 17% |
| Grade 5 | 31 | 14% |
This year's kindergarten class (26) is 16% smaller than its 5th grade class (31).
Student demographics
54%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 66% · 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
52.9%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
57.8%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 53 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
57.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.7%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+8.7pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 57% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 49% 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 Southwood Elementary
Southwood Elementary's state test result (57.5% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southwood Elementary this school | 218 | 98.6% | 57.5% |
| Oak Lane Elementary Hurdle Mills | 224 | 98.7% | 61.3% |
| J S Waters School Goldston | 222 | 98.6% | 59.3% |
| District No 7 Elementary Wade | 211 | 96.7% | 57.1% |
| W B Beam Intermediate School Cherryville | 191 | 98.4% | 56.8% |
| John W Dillard Academy Madison | 256 | 98.8% | 46.0% |
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 Southwood Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Lenoir County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 57.5% | #584 of 1,297 | #4 of 9 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 57.8% | #672 of 1,296 | #4 of 9 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 52.9% | #518 of 1,300 | #4 of 9 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 218 | #1,348 of 1,485 | #9 of 10 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.5:1 | #55 of 1,377 | #1 of 9 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 53.9% | #907 of 1,379 | #6 of 9 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 98.6% | #802 of 1,414 | #8 of 10 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -34.1% | #53 of 937 | #1 of 6 |
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
218
-43 (-16%) vs 2020
-50% since 1990-91, when it was 433
Student : Teacher
11.5:1
was 11.9:1
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 | 218 | 19 | 11.5:1 | 99% (215) |
| 2023-24 | 235 | 18.2 | 12.9:1 | 99% (232) |
| 2022-23 | 241 | 20 | 12.1:1 | 99% (238) |
| 2020-21 | 261 | 22 | 11.9:1 | 99% (258) |
| 2017-18 | 331 | 21.7 | 15.3:1 | 98% (325) |
| 2015-16 | 344 | 24 | 14.3:1 | 99% (340) |
| 2010-11 | 348 | 25 | 13.9:1 | 61% (212) |
| 2000-01 | 386 | 30 | 12.9:1 | 61% (235) |
| 1990-91 | 433 | 19 | 22.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Southwood Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 34% (331 to 218); teachers down 12% (21.7 to 19).
About Southwood Elementary
Students in Kinston, North Carolina, attend Southwood Elementary, a small elementary school. The school's enrollment of 218 students covers pre-K through 5. Statewide, elementary schools in North Carolina average about 467 students each.
Lenoir County Public Schools includes 17 schools. Together they enroll 8,331 students.
Roughly 64% of students at Southwood Elementary are White. Other groups include 16% Black, 15% Hispanic, and 6% multiracial. By comparison, Lenoir County residents are about 50% White. Southwood Elementary's diversity index is 54%, against a US figure of 70%.
The school employs the equivalent of 19 full-time teachers, for a ratio of 11.5:1. That is 3.4 students per teacher below the 14.9:1 average for elementary schools in North Carolina. The free or reduced-price lunch rate at Southwood Elementary is 99%. For comparison, public schools in Lenoir County average 99%.
Measured against North Carolina public elementary schools, Southwood Elementary receives a B. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
Southwood Elementary's average proficiency rate on state tests of 57.5% is 8.7 points above the 48.7% the model predicts from its lunch-eligibility share.
Within Lenoir County, the median household income is $45,143, 16% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 17% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Besides Southwood Elementary, Lenoir County has 17 other public schools.
The school nearest to Southwood Elementary is Lenoir County Early College High, at a distance of about 1.9 miles. A five-mile radius around the school includes 4 other public schools. Southwood Elementary places 2nd of 8 on proficiency among the closest schools that report scores.
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.
Southwood Elementary's enrollment dropped from 261 in 2020-21 to 218 in 2024-25.
Discussions about Southwood Elementary may include school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Lenoir County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
54,919
Census ACS
Median income
$45,143
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
16%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
17%
Below federal line
Schools in county
18
8,480 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Lenoir County Public Schools
- North Lenoir HighHigh · 957 students
- Contentnea-Savannah SchoolElementary · 789 students
- South Lenoir HighHigh · 721 students
- Kinston HighHigh · 659 students
- Woodington MiddleMiddle · 584 students
- La Grange ElementaryElementary · 547 students
Other schools in Kinston
- Contentnea-Savannah SchoolElementary · 789 students
- Kinston HighHigh · 659 students
- Woodington MiddleMiddle · 584 students
- Rochelle MiddleMiddle · 517 students
- Northwest ElementaryElementary · 504 students
- Northeast ElementaryElementary · 465 students
Other Southwood Elementary schools
9 other US public schools in 9 states are named Southwood Elementary. Southwood Elementary is the 10th largest of the 10.
- Southwood ElementaryLexington, NC · 616 students
- SOUTHWOOD ELEMENTARYORLANDO, FL · 481 students
- Southwood Elementary SchoolWabash, IN · 458 students
- Southwood Elementary SchoolEnumclaw, WA · 358 students
- SOUTHWOOD ELEM.RAYTOWN, MO · 346 students
Nearby schools
- Lenoir County Early College High1.9 mi · 246
- Southeast Elementary3.5 mi · 326
- Rochelle Middle3.8 mi · 517
- Children's Village Academy4.1 mi · 149
- Northeast Elementary5.0 mi · 465
- Woodington Middle5.2 mi · 584
Frequently asked questions
About Southwood ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at Southwood Elementary?
Southwood Elementary enrolls approximately 218 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does Southwood Elementary serve?
Southwood Elementary serves grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Southwood Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Southwood Elementary is approximately 11.5:1 (19 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Southwood Elementary?
At Southwood Elementary, the student body is approximately 64% White, 15% Hispanic, 16% Black, 6% Two or more.
Is Southwood Elementary public or private?
Southwood Elementary is a public K-12 school, overseen by Lenoir County Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.