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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at South Mesa Elementary?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
595
Elementary
DISTRICT 568 · STATE 491
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WASHINGTON DISTRICT·NCES 490114001602
South Mesa Elementary
2969 S 3300 East, SAINT GEORGE, UT 84790 · (435) 634-7030 · Washington County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL595 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
22.4:1
27 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 27.5:1 · STATE 21.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
9%
54 students
DISTRICT 36% · STATE 33%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 73 | 12% |
| Grade 1 | 85 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 117 | 20% |
| Grade 3 | 101 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 112 | 19% |
| Grade 5 | 107 | 18% |
This year's kindergarten class (73) is 32% smaller than its 5th grade class (107).
Student demographics
20%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 41% · STATE 47% · 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
RISE / Utah Aspire+ 2024-25 . % Proficient + Highly ProficientEnglish Language Arts
62.9%
UT avg 41.4% . +0.0pp since 2023
Math
71.2%
UT avg 41.8% . +6.5pp since 2023
What this means: On the RISE / Utah Aspire+, Utah's statewide test, about 63 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 71 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Utah schools, those numbers are about 41 and 42. Reading and writing scores have held steady since 2023, while math scores are up about 7 points.
RISE / Utah Aspire+ results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 62.9% | 71.2% |
| 2023-24 | 62.9% | 64.7% |
% Proficient + Highly Proficient, all students and all tested grades.
Source: RISE / Utah Aspire+. 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
64.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
55.4%
based on UT schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+9.2pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 65% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 55% typical for Utah 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 Utah'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 South Mesa Elementary
South Mesa Elementary's state test result (64.6% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Mesa Elementary this school | 595 | 9.1% | 64.6% |
| Little Valley School ST GEORGE | 552 | 8.0% | 57.7% |
| Deerfield School CEDAR HILLS | 554 | 9.9% | 62.1% |
| Mapleton School MAPLETON | 591 | 10.0% | 60.1% |
| H C Burton School KAYSVILLE | 687 | 9.2% | 64.3% |
| Knowlton School FARMINGTON | 663 | 9.0% | 63.3% |
Matched among Utah 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 South Mesa Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Utah | In Washington County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 64.6% | #65 of 562 | #2 of 29 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 71.2% | #31 of 578 ▲ 43 | #2 of 30 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 62.9% | #46 of 578 ▲ 27 | #1 of 30 ▲ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 595 | #193 of 613 | #8 of 31 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 22.4:1 | #407 of 556 | #27 of 29 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 20.1% | #520 of 559 | #28 of 29 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 9.1% | #548 of 582 | #29 of 30 |
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
595
+150 (+34%) vs 2020
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 | 595 | 26.5 | 22.4:1 | 9% (54) |
| 2023-24 | 593 | 26.5 | 22.4:1 | 12% (71) |
| 2022-23 | 565 | 27.5 | 20.6:1 | 12% (65) |
| 2020-21 | 445 | N/A | N/A | 11% (51) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for South Mesa Elementary.
About South Mesa Elementary
South Mesa Elementary is a public medium-sized elementary school in SAINT GEORGE, Utah. The school's enrollment of 595 students covers kindergarten through 5. Statewide, elementary schools in Utah average about 491 students each.
South Mesa Elementary is a school in Washington District. The district has 54 schools and 37,102 students.
South Mesa Elementary enrolls a student body that is 89% White. The school is also 7% Hispanic. By the diversity index, South Mesa Elementary comes in at 20%.
With 26.5 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25, the ratio at South Mesa Elementary was 22.4:1. Elementary schools in Utah have a similar average ratio of 21.8:1. South Mesa Elementary's free or reduced-price lunch eligibility rate is 9%. Across public schools in Washington County, the average is 29%.
On a poverty-adjusted basis, South Mesa Elementary falls in the middle 80% of Utah schools: 64.6% actual against 55.4% predicted.
Washington County has these Census figures: median household income is about $80,632, about 35% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 6%. South Mesa Elementary is among the 65 public schools in Washington County.
The school nearest to South Mesa Elementary is George Washington Academy, at a distance of about 0.9 miles. Counting only straight-line distance, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. South Mesa Elementary places 4th of 9 on proficiency among the closest schools that report scores.
NCES lists the school's locale as City: Mid-size. That means it sits inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
The number of students climbed from 445 to 595 over 4 years.
The allk12 site hosts a discussion page for South Mesa Elementary covering things like school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Washington County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
196,431
Census ACS
Median income
$80,632
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
35%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
65
41,356 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Washington District
- Utah Online K8Elementary · 2,693 students
- Utah Online 7-12High · 1,547 students
- Crimson Cliffs HighHigh · 1,401 students
- Snow Canyon HighHigh · 1,324 students
- Dixie HighHigh · 1,263 students
- Desert Hills HighHigh · 1,241 students
Other schools in SAINT GEORGE
- Utah Online 7-12High · 1,547 students
- Desert Hills HighHigh · 1,241 students
- Desert Hills MiddleHigh · 909 students
- Sunrise Ridge IntermediateMiddle · 802 students
- Desert Canyons ElementaryElementary · 670 students
- Tonaquint IntermediateMiddle · 653 students
Other South Mesa Elementary schools
One other US public school is named South Mesa Elementary. South Mesa Elementary is the largest of the 2.
- South Mesa Elementary SchoolPUEBLO, CO · 323 students
Nearby schools
- George Washington Academy0.9 mi · 1,013
- Crimson Cliffs High1.0 mi · 1,401
- Sunrise Ridge Intermediate1.1 mi · 802
- Crimson Cliffs Middle1.1 mi · 933
- Little Valley School1.2 mi · 552
- Crimson View School1.4 mi · 520
Frequently asked questions
About South Mesa ElementaryHow large is South Mesa Elementary?
South Mesa Elementary enrolls approximately 595 students in grades KG-05.
Is South Mesa Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
South Mesa Elementary is an elementary school covering grades KG-05.
How many students per teacher at South Mesa Elementary?
Approximately 22.4:1 students per teacher at South Mesa Elementary.
What is the racial breakdown of students at South Mesa Elementary?
At South Mesa Elementary, the student body is approximately 89% White, 7% Hispanic, 1% Black, 0% Asian, 2% Two or more.
Who oversees South Mesa Elementary?
South Mesa Elementary is overseen by Washington District in Washington County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.