Southworth Elementary

Southworth Elementary operates as a substantial elementary school in Yelm, Washington, run under Yelm School District. Current enrollment sits at 671 students spanning grades pre-K through 5. Compared to the state average of about 380 students per school, that is 77% above typical.

Within Yelm School District, which oversees 10 schools and 5,671 students, Southworth Elementary is one campus in the system.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Southworth Elementary logs that White students make up the majority at 55%. The remainder reads as 21% Hispanic, 11% multiracial, 4% Asian, 4% Black. By comparison, Thurston County as a whole is about 72% White, so the school skews considerably less White than its surroundings.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Staff filings list 33 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 20.2:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 17.3:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. Around 46% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, often used as a Title I proxy.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Southworth Elementary sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 49.0%; this one delivers 44.8%.

In the surrounding community, community-level numbers for Thurston County indicate median household income runs about $96,563, 39% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 6%. In all, Thurston County runs 86 public schools (combined enrollment of about 44,412 students), of which Southworth Elementary is one.

The closest other public school is Yelm High School 12, roughly 1.5 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. On composite proficiency, Southworth Elementary comes 6th of 8 in the immediate cluster, behind the nearby-schools average of 48.2%.

Geographically, the school is in a rural area.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Southworth Elementary has climbed 24%, going from 541 students in 2018 to 671 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio grew from 17.5:1 in 2018 to 20.2:1 today.

Inside the community feed, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.