1
What do students at Southwestern Elementary actually talk about outside of class?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
579
Elementary
DISTRICT 635 · STATE 499
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SUFFOLK CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 510371001629
Southwestern Elementary
150 Pioneer Rd, Suffolk, VA 23437 · (757) 925-5782 · Suffolk city
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL579 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
18.7:1
31 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 17.7:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
69%
402 students
DISTRICT 69% · 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 | 35 | 6% |
| Kindergarten | 85 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 85 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 92 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 86 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 84 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 112 | 19% |
This year's kindergarten class (85) is 24% smaller than its 5th grade class (112).
Student demographics
60%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 61% · 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
75.0%
VA avg 74.2% . +7.0pp since 2022
Math
80.0%
VA avg 72.7% . +7.0pp since 2022
What this means: On the SOL, Virginia's statewide test, about 75 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 80 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 7 points since 2022, while math scores are up about 7 points.
SOL results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 75.0% | 80.0% |
| 2023-24 | 70.0% | 70.0% |
| 2022-23 | 68.0% | 73.0% |
% 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
70.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
69.2%
based on VA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+1.6pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 71% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 69% 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 (70.8% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southwestern Elementary this school | 579 | 69.4% | 70.8% |
| Hardy Elementary Smithfield | 649 | 70.1% | 71.3% |
| Alanton Elementary Virginia Beach | 632 | 67.4% | 83.0% |
| Moss-Nuckols Elementary Louisa | 637 | 67.2% | 70.8% |
| D.J. Montague Elementary Williamsburg | 515 | 66.6% | 75.3% |
| Linkhorn Park Elementary Virginia Beach | 514 | 68.5% | 80.4% |
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 Suffolk city |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 70.8% | #563 of 1,101 | #5 of 11 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 80.0% | #415 of 1,111 ▲ 206 | #3 of 11 ▲ 3 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 75.0% | #469 of 1,111 ▲ 144 | #4 of 11 ▲ 2 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 579 | #406 of 1,176 | #7 of 11 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 18.7:1 | #1,083 of 1,105 | #8 of 11 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 60.3% | #556 of 1,106 | #7 of 11 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 69.4% | #695 of 1,157 | #2 of 11 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -9.4% | #476 of 759 | #5 of 7 |
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
579
+21 (+4%) vs 2020
+11% since 1990-91, when it was 523
Student : Teacher
18.7:1
was 15.9:1
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 | 579 | 31 | 18.7:1 | 69% (402) |
| 2023-24 | 609 | 34 | 17.9:1 | 68% (415) |
| 2022-23 | 595 | 36 | 16.5:1 | 64% (381) |
| 2020-21 | 558 | 35 | 15.9:1 | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 639 | 34.4 | 18.6:1 | 47% (299) |
| 2015-16 | 598 | 35 | 17.1:1 | 48% (290) |
| 2010-11 | 367 | 20 | 18.4:1 | 44% (162) |
| 2000-01 | 384 | 25 | 15.4:1 | 32% (123) |
| 1990-91 | 523 | 30 | 17.4:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Southwestern Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 9% (639 to 579); teachers down 10% (34.4 to 31).
About Southwestern Elementary
Among the schools in Suffolk, Virginia, is Southwestern Elementary, a mid-sized elementary school. Enrollment stands at 579 students, covering pre-K through 5.
Southwestern Elementary is run by Suffolk City Public Schools, whose 19 schools enroll 14,565 students.
About 56% of the student body at Southwestern Elementary is White. The remaining students are 26% Black, 9% Hispanic, and 7% multiracial. Among people living in Suffolk city, the White share is about 47%. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 60%.
For every teacher at Southwestern Elementary, there are about 18.7 students; the school has 31 full-time-equivalent teachers. Statewide, elementary schools in Virginia average 13.8:1. The eligibility rate for free or reduced-price meals is 69%. The average for public schools in Suffolk city is similar, at 69%.
Based on student poverty, the model expects 69.2% at Southwestern Elementary; the school's average proficiency rate across its state test results is 70.8%.
American Community Survey estimates for Suffolk city show that median household income comes to about $92,666, roughly 33% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 7%. The county's public schools total 22, with about 14,565 students.
Lakeland High is the nearest public school to Southwestern Elementary, about 5.0 miles away. Counting only straight-line distance, at least 8 other public schools are within ten miles. On proficiency, Southwestern Elementary is ahead of the 70.5% nearby average, ranking 5th of 9.
NCES lists the school's locale as Rural: Distant. That means it sits in rural territory some distance from an urban area.
In 2020-21, Southwestern Elementary enrolled 558 students. By 2024-25, that number had grown to 579. Staffing shifted too: the ratio moved from 15.9:1 to 18.7:1.
People can post here about special education services, counseling, and support programs and other school topics. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Suffolk city at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
98,796
Census ACS
Median income
$92,666
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
33%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
22
14,565 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Suffolk City Public Schools
- King's Fork HighHigh · 1,686 students
- Nansemond River HighHigh · 1,683 students
- Lakeland HighHigh · 1,045 students
- King's Fork MiddleMiddle · 986 students
- Florence Bowser ElementaryElementary · 926 students
- Northern Shores ElementaryElementary · 798 students
Other schools in Suffolk
- King's Fork HighHigh · 1,686 students
- Nansemond River HighHigh · 1,683 students
- Lakeland HighHigh · 1,045 students
- King's Fork MiddleMiddle · 986 students
- Florence Bowser ElementaryElementary · 926 students
- Northern Shores ElementaryElementary · 798 students
Other Southwestern Elementary schools
5 other US public schools in 4 states are named Southwestern Elementary. Southwestern Elementary is the 3rd largest of the 6.
- Southwestern ElementaryChesapeake, VA · 549 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
- Lakeland High5.0 mi · 1,045
- Forest Glen Middle5.1 mi · 433
- Carrsville Elementary5.3 mi · 232
- Kilby Shores Elementary6.7 mi · 494
- Windsor High8.3 mi · 508
- Georgie D. Tyler Middle8.9 mi · 368
Frequently asked questions
About Southwestern ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at Southwestern Elementary?
Southwestern Elementary enrolls approximately 579 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Southwestern Elementary serve?
Southwestern Elementary serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Southwestern Elementary?
Approximately 18.7:1 students per teacher at Southwestern Elementary.
What is the student diversity at Southwestern Elementary?
Student demographics at Southwestern Elementary are roughly 56% White, 9% Hispanic, 26% Black, 1% Asian, 7% Two or more.
Who oversees Southwestern Elementary?
Southwestern Elementary is overseen by Suffolk City Public Schools in Suffolk city.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.