1
Enrollment
549
Elementary
DISTRICT 648 · STATE 499
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CHESAPEAKE CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 510081000308
Southwestern Elementary
4410 Airline Blvd, Chesapeake, VA 23321 · (757) 465-6310 · Chesapeake city
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL549 STUDENTS
B
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 56% of Virginia 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 Virginia public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
13.6:1
40 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.5:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
74%
407 students
DISTRICT 53% · 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 | 44 | 8% |
| Kindergarten | 100 | 18% |
| Grade 1 | 73 | 13% |
| Grade 2 | 81 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 85 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 85 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 81 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (100) is 23% larger than its 5th grade class (81).
Student demographics
48%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 70% · 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
66.0%
VA avg 74.2% . -1.0pp since 2022
Math
83.0%
VA avg 72.7% . +12.0pp since 2022
What this means: On the SOL, Virginia's statewide test, about 66 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 83 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Virginia schools, those numbers are about 74 and 73. Reading and writing scores are down about 1 points since 2022, while math scores are up about 12 points.
SOL results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 66.0% | 83.0% |
| 2023-24 | 69.0% | 77.0% |
| 2022-23 | 67.0% | 71.0% |
% Passing, all students and all tested grades.
Source: SOL. 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
72.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
67.9%
based on VA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+4.5pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 72% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 68% typical for Virginia 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 Virginia'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 Southwestern Elementary
Southwestern Elementary's state test result (72.4% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southwestern Elementary this school | 549 | 74.1% | 72.4% |
| Ettrick Elementary Ettrick | 560 | 75.2% | 65.4% |
| Mack Benn Jr. Elementary Suffolk | 713 | 69.3% | 59.1% |
| Elephant's Fork Elementary Suffolk | 653 | 69.1% | 55.8% |
| Thurgood Marshall Elementary Chesapeake | 395 | 74.9% | 55.0% |
| Hillpoint Elementary Suffolk | 780 | 69.2% | 59.9% |
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 Southwestern Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Virginia | In Chesapeake city |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 72.4% | #517 of 1,101 | #14 of 21 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 83.0% | #307 of 1,111 ▲ 120 | #12 of 21 ▼ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 66.0% | #698 of 1,111 ▼ 78 | #16 of 21 ▼ 2 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 549 | #464 of 1,176 | #18 of 28 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.6:1 | #459 of 1,105 | #7 of 28 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 48.2% | #790 of 1,106 | #23 of 28 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 74.1% | #593 of 1,157 | #7 of 28 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +3.4% | #241 of 324 | #9 of 12 |
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
549
+16 (+3%) vs 2020
+15% since 1990-91, when it was 476
Student : Teacher
13.6:1
was 12.7:1
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 | 549 | 40.4 | 13.6:1 | 74% (407) |
| 2023-24 | 550 | 37.4 | 14.7:1 | 83% (456) |
| 2022-23 | 544 | 41.5 | 13.1:1 | 91% (494) |
| 2020-21 | 533 | 42 | 12.7:1 | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 531 | 38 | 14.0:1 | 67% (356) |
| 2015-16 | 561 | 34 | 16.5:1 | 58% (324) |
| 2010-11 | 606 | 30 | 20.2:1 | 66% (402) |
| 2000-01 | 480 | 37 | 13.0:1 | 72% (347) |
| 1990-91 | 476 | 27 | 17.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Southwestern Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 3% (531 to 549); teachers up 6% (38 to 40.4).
About Southwestern Elementary
Students in Chesapeake, Virginia, attend Southwestern Elementary, a mid-sized elementary school. Total enrollment is 549 students, and the grades served are pre-K through 5.
Chesapeake City Public Schools has 40,607 students in 45 schools, and Southwestern Elementary is one of those schools.
At Southwestern Elementary, 70% of students are Black. The school is also 13% White, 11% Hispanic, and 6% multiracial. That is higher than the 29% Black share among all Chesapeake city residents. The diversity index for Southwestern Elementary is 48%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.
Southwestern Elementary reports a ratio of 13.6 students per teacher, from 40.4 full-time-equivalent teachers. The average ratio among elementary schools in Virginia is similar, at 13.8:1. Student poverty is often measured by lunch eligibility; at Southwestern Elementary, 74% qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. That is 25 points above the 49% average for public schools in Chesapeake city.
On the allk12 Grade, Southwestern Elementary lands at B, ahead of 56% of Virginia public elementary schools.
Based on its free or reduced-price lunch share, the BeatsExpectations model predicts an average proficiency rate across its state test results of 67.9% for Southwestern Elementary. The school posts 72.4%, 4.5 points above the prediction.
The school's county is Chesapeake city. According to Census Bureau estimates, median household income comes to about $95,373, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 37%, and roughly 7% of residents are in poverty. There are 50 public schools in the county, enrolling about 40,607, Southwestern Elementary among them.
Of the public schools around it, Southwestern Elementary is closest to Jolliff Middle, about 0.6 miles away. Inside a five-mile radius, there are at least 8 other public schools. Southwestern Elementary is 3rd of 8 nearby schools by average proficiency rate.
Its location is classified as City: Large by the National Center for Education Statistics.
In 2024-25, the school enrolled 549, up from 533 in 2020-21.
This page is a place to ask questions and share updates about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies at Southwestern Elementary. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
Chesapeake city at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
252,583
Census ACS
Median income
$95,373
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
37%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
50
40,607 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Chesapeake City Public Schools
- Grassfield HighHigh · 2,345 students
- Oscar F. Smith HighHigh · 2,264 students
- Western Branch HighHigh · 2,138 students
- Deep Creek HighHigh · 1,691 students
- Indian River HighHigh · 1,634 students
- Hickory HighHigh · 1,600 students
Other schools in Chesapeake
- Grassfield HighHigh · 2,345 students
- Oscar F. Smith HighHigh · 2,264 students
- Western Branch HighHigh · 2,138 students
- Deep Creek HighHigh · 1,691 students
- Indian River HighHigh · 1,634 students
- Hickory HighHigh · 1,600 students
Other Southwestern Elementary schools
5 other US public schools in 4 states are named Southwestern Elementary. Southwestern Elementary is the 4th largest of the 6.
- Southwestern ElementarySuffolk, VA · 579 students
- Southwestern Elementary SchoolHanover, IN · 633 students
- SOUTHWESTERN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLJAMESTOWN, NY · 588 students
- Southwestern Elementary SchoolShelbyville, IN · 405 students
- Southwestern Elementary SchoolPatriot, OH · 160 students
Nearby schools
- Jolliff Middle0.6 mi · 753
- Edwin W. Chittum Elementary1.6 mi · 762
- Lakeview Elementary1.9 mi · 439
- Hodges Manor Elementary2.0 mi · 466
- Manor High2.1 mi · 1,149
- William E. Waters Middle2.7 mi · 549
Frequently asked questions
About Southwestern ElementaryHow many students attend Southwestern Elementary?
Southwestern Elementary enrolls approximately 549 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Southwestern Elementary serve?
Southwestern Elementary serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many teachers does Southwestern Elementary have?
Southwestern Elementary employs 40 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 13.6:1.
How diverse is Southwestern Elementary?
Southwestern Elementary reports a student body of 13% White, 11% Hispanic, 70% Black, 0% Asian, 6% Two or more.
Is Southwestern Elementary public or private?
Southwestern Elementary is a public K-12 school, overseen by Chesapeake City Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.