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Alumni: what's one memory from Southside Elementary that still sticks with you?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
428
Elementary
DISTRICT 349 · STATE 499
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 510294001224
Southside Elementary
440 East Witt Rd, Blairs, VA 24527 · (434) 836-0006 · Pittsylvania County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL428 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
13.0:1
33 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.5:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
84%
358 students
DISTRICT 85% · STATE 66%
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 | 46 | 11% |
| Kindergarten | 65 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 65 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 55 | 13% |
| Grade 3 | 57 | 13% |
| Grade 4 | 73 | 17% |
| Grade 5 | 67 | 16% |
This year's kindergarten class (65) is about the same size as its 5th grade class (67).
Student demographics
55%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 51% · 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
SOL 2024-25 . % PassingEnglish Language Arts
90.0%
VA avg 74.2% . +2.0pp since 2022
Math
88.0%
VA avg 72.7% . -2.0pp since 2022
What this means: On the SOL, Virginia's statewide test, about 90 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 88 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Virginia schools, those numbers are about 74 and 73. Reading and writing scores are up about 2 points since 2022, while math scores are down about 2 points.
SOL results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 90.0% | 88.0% |
| 2023-24 | 87.0% | 89.0% |
| 2022-23 | 88.0% | 90.0% |
% Passing, all students and all tested grades.
Source: SOL. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of VA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
89.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
65.3%
based on VA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+23.7pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 89% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 65% typical for Virginia schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 24 points, placing it in Virginia's top 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 Southside Elementary
Southside Elementary's state test result (89.0% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southside Elementary this school | 428 | 83.6% | 89.0% |
| Amelon Elementary Madison Heights | 415 | 83.6% | 52.1% |
| Gretna Elementary Gretna | 493 | 83.0% | 79.6% |
| Brookneal Elementary Brookneal | 410 | 79.5% | 70.3% |
| Kentuck Elementary Ringgold | 478 | 87.2% | 78.5% |
| Altavista Elementary Altavista | 497 | 78.1% | 74.3% |
Matched among Virginia 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 Southside Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Virginia | In Pittsylvania County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 89.0% | #75 of 1,101 | #2 of 10 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 88.0% | #173 of 1,111 ▼ 70 | #3 of 10 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 90.0% | #81 of 1,111 ▲ 49 | #2 of 10 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 428 | #753 of 1,176 | #5 of 10 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.0:1 | #344 of 1,105 | #3 of 8 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 54.6% | #683 of 1,106 | #1 of 8 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 83.6% | #446 of 1,157 | #8 of 10 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -7.4% | #541 of 759 | #7 of 8 |
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
428
+20 (+5%) vs 2020
+6% since 1990-91, when it was 405
Student : Teacher
13.0:1
was 13.6:1
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 | 428 | 33 | 13.0:1 | 84% (358) |
| 2023-24 | 422 | 34 | 12.4:1 | 85% (360) |
| 2022-23 | 413 | 35 | 11.8:1 | 82% (339) |
| 2020-21 | 408 | 30 | 13.6:1 | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 462 | 33.8 | 13.7:1 | 65% (302) |
| 2015-16 | 501 | 34 | 14.7:1 | 62% (309) |
| 2010-11 | 556 | 31 | 17.9:1 | 61% (337) |
| 2000-01 | 514 | 36 | 14.3:1 | 47% (242) |
| 1990-91 | 405 | 27 | 15.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Southside Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 7% (462 to 428); teachers down 2% (33.8 to 33).
About Southside Elementary
Southside Elementary is a medium-sized elementary school. Its address is in Blairs, Virginia. The school's enrollment of 428 students covers pre-K through 5.
Pittsylvania County Public Schools counts 18 schools and 7,830 students, including Southside Elementary.
White students are the majority at Southside Elementary, with 60% of enrollment. Other groups make up 31% Black, 5% multiracial, and 4% Hispanic. Pittsylvania County as a whole is about 74% White, so the school's share is lower. The school's diversity index is 55%, meaning two students picked at random have a 55% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Its 33 full-time-equivalent teachers give the school a ratio of 13.0:1. This ratio sits 0.9 below the 13.8:1 average for elementary schools in Virginia. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is 84%. For comparison, public schools in Pittsylvania County average 85%.
Compared with Virginia schools that have similar shares of low-income students, Southside Elementary does better than predicted by 23.7 points. Its average proficiency rate on state tests is 89.0%; the prediction is 65.3%.
Census estimates describe Pittsylvania County this way: the median household income is $54,085, 16% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 9% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Besides Southside Elementary, Pittsylvania County has 21 other public schools.
Twin Springs Elementary is the closest public school, about 3.0 miles away in a straight line. In all, 4 other public schools sit within five miles of Southside Elementary. Southside Elementary places 1st of 7 on proficiency among the closest schools that report scores.
The federal government classifies Southside Elementary's location as Rural: Fringe.
Southside Elementary's enrollment grew from 408 in 2020-21 to 428 in 2024-25.
Community posts for Southside Elementary can cover enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Pittsylvania County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
59,856
Census ACS
Median income
$54,085
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
16%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
22
7,830 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Pittsylvania County Public Schools
- Tunstall HighHigh · 800 students
- Twin Springs ElementaryElementary · 618 students
- Chatham HighHigh · 609 students
- Tunstall MiddleMiddle · 609 students
- Dan River HighHigh · 583 students
- Gretna HighHigh · 507 students
Other Southside Elementary schools
32 other US public schools in 20 states are named Southside Elementary. Southside Elementary is the 21st largest of the 33.
- Southside ElementaryDinwiddie, VA · 446 students
- Southside Elementary SchoolCLEVELAND, TX · 1,016 students
- Southside Elementary SchoolColumbus, IN · 891 students
- SOUTHSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLSOUTHSIDE, AR · 852 students
- Southside ElementaryLebanon, TN · 806 students
Nearby schools
- Twin Springs Elementary3.0 mi · 618
- Dan River Middle4.4 mi · 438
- Dan River High4.4 mi · 583
- Kentuck Elementary4.5 mi · 478
- G.L.H. Johnson Elementary5.1 mi · 571
- The Northside Preschool5.1 mi · 137
Frequently asked questions
About Southside ElementaryHow many students attend Southside Elementary?
Southside Elementary enrolls approximately 428 students in grades PK-05.
Is Southside Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
Southside Elementary is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
How many students per teacher at Southside Elementary?
Approximately 13.0:1 students per teacher at Southside Elementary.
How diverse is Southside Elementary?
Southside Elementary reports a student body of 60% White, 4% Hispanic, 31% Black, 0% Asian, 5% Two or more.
What district is Southside Elementary in?
Southside Elementary is part of Pittsylvania County Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.