Enrollment
336
Elementary
DISTRICT 375 · STATE 323
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MADISON METROPOLITAN SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 550852000929
Southside Elementary School
501 E Badger Rd, Madison, WI 53713 · (608) 204-1056 · Dane County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL336 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
9.7:1
35 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 10.9:1 · STATE 14.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
76%
254 students
DISTRICT 48% · STATE 42%
Community
0
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 | 33 | 10% |
| Kindergarten | 49 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 54 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 56 | 17% |
| Grade 3 | 41 | 12% |
| Grade 4 | 50 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 53 | 16% |
This year's kindergarten class (49) is 8% smaller than its 5th grade class (53).
Student demographics
67%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 73% · STATE 54% · 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
Forward Exam 2024-25 . % Meeting or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
13.4%
WI avg 53.1% . -4.0pp since 2023
Math
16.4%
WI avg 54.8% . +1.1pp since 2023
What this means: On the Forward Exam, Wisconsin's statewide test, about 13 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 16 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Wisconsin schools, those numbers are about 53 and 55. Reading and writing scores are down about 4 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 1 points.
Forward Exam results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 13.4% | 16.4% |
| 2023-24 | 17.4% | 15.3% |
% Meeting or Advanced, all students and all tested grades.
Source: Forward Exam. 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
19.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
31.3%
based on WI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-12.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 19% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 31% typical for Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin'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 Southside Elementary School
Southside Elementary School's state test result (19.0% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southside Elementary School this school | 336 | 75.6% | 19.0% |
| Pershing Elementary West Milwaukee | 250 | 74.8% | 32.0% |
| Honey Creek Elementary Milwaukee | 393 | 73.5% | 39.5% |
| Hackett Elementary Beloit | 434 | 74.2% | 16.3% |
| Parkside Elementary Fond du Lac | 325 | 79.4% | 36.8% |
| Wadewitz Elementary Racine | 517 | 77.6% | 23.4% |
Matched among Wisconsin 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 School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Wisconsin | In Dane County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 19.0% | #903 of 982 | #74 of 74 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 16.4% | #911 of 992 ▲ 7 | #74 of 74 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 13.4% | #938 of 992 ▼ 16 | #74 of 74 ▼ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 336 | #500 of 1,157 | #53 of 93 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 9.7:1 | #36 of 901 | #8 of 83 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 66.7% | #139 of 901 | #25 of 83 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 75.6% | #144 of 1,064 | #2 of 91 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -31.3% | #71 of 664 | #7 of 61 |
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
336
-66 (-16%) vs 2020
-42% since 1990-91, when it was 582
Student : Teacher
9.7:1
was 11.2:1
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 | 336 | 34.7 | 9.7:1 | 76% (254) |
| 2023-24 | 357 | 29.6 | 12.1:1 | 68% (243) |
| 2022-23 | 384 | 37.2 | 10.3:1 | 75% (287) |
| 2020-21 | 402 | 36 | 11.2:1 | 81% (324) |
| 2017-18 | 489 | 43.4 | 11.3:1 | 66% (322) |
| 2015-16 | 510 | 47 | 10.8:1 | 76% (389) |
| 2010-11 | 399 | 35 | 11.4:1 | 78% (310) |
| 2000-01 | 520 | 46 | 11.3:1 | 29% (153) |
| 1990-91 | 582 | 47 | 12.4:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Southside Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 31% (489 to 336); teachers down 20% (43.4 to 34.7).
About Southside Elementary School
Southside Elementary School is a medium-sized elementary school based in Madison, Wisconsin. Students in pre-K through 5 attend the school, which enrolls 336 students.
Southside Elementary School belongs to Madison Metropolitan School District, a district of 53 schools and 25,155 students.
At Southside Elementary School, the largest share of students is Hispanic, at 49%. It is also 26% Black, 13% White, 8% multiracial, and 4% Asian. For comparison, the population of Dane County is roughly 8% Hispanic. Southside Elementary School's diversity index is 67%, against a US figure of 70%.
At Southside Elementary School, 34.7 full-time-equivalent teachers work with students, a ratio of about 9.7:1. That is lower than the 14.7:1 average for elementary schools in Wisconsin. Roughly 76% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. Among public schools in Dane County, the average eligibility rate is 32%.
Southside Elementary School sits between the top and bottom 10% of Wisconsin schools on BeatsExpectations, with an actual average proficiency rate on state tests of 19.0% and a predicted 31.3%.
Federal survey data for Dane County show that the median household income is $89,975, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 55% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 5%. Dane County is home to 169 public schools and about 78,525 public school students.
The closest public school, Badger Rock Middle, is less than a tenth of a mile from Southside Elementary School. Other public schools within five miles: at least 8. Ranked by average proficiency, Southside Elementary School places 8th out of 8 schools in its immediate area.
Federal data place Southside Elementary School in the City: Large locale, which means it is inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more.
Enrollment at Southside Elementary School declined 16% between 2020-21 and 2024-25, from 402 to 336 students. The ratio of students to teachers went from 11.2:1 to 9.7:1 over the same years.
To ask about science fairs, picture day, and bus routes, start a discussion on this page. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Dane County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
572,674
Census ACS
Median income
$89,975
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
55%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
169
78,525 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Madison Metropolitan School District
- West HighHigh · 2,222 students
- Vel Phillips Memorial High SchoolHigh · 2,004 students
- East HighHigh · 1,643 students
- LaFollette HighHigh · 1,541 students
- Hamilton MiddleMiddle · 790 students
- Cesar Chavez ElementaryElementary · 631 students
Other schools in Madison
- West HighHigh · 2,222 students
- Vel Phillips Memorial High SchoolHigh · 2,004 students
- East HighHigh · 1,643 students
- LaFollette HighHigh · 1,541 students
- Hamilton MiddleMiddle · 790 students
- Cesar Chavez ElementaryElementary · 631 students
Other Southside Elementary schools
32 other US public schools in 20 states are named Southside Elementary. Southside Elementary School is the 28th largest of the 33.
- Southside Elementary SchoolCLEVELAND, TX · 1,016 students
- Southside Elementary SchoolColumbus, IN · 891 students
- SOUTHSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLSOUTHSIDE, AR · 852 students
- Southside ElementaryLebanon, TN · 806 students
- SOUTHSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLBUFFALO, NY · 772 students
Nearby schools
- Badger Rock Middle0.0 mi · 92
- Lincoln Elementary1.1 mi · 393
- Franklin Elementary1.3 mi · 308
- James Wright Middle1.4 mi · 245
- Forest Edge Elementary School1.6 mi · 446
- One City Elementary School1.9 mi · 328
Frequently asked questions
About Southside Elementary SchoolHow large is Southside Elementary School?
Southside Elementary School enrolls approximately 336 students in grades PK-05.
Is Southside Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Southside Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
How many teachers does Southside Elementary School have?
Southside Elementary School employs 35 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 9.7:1.
What is the student diversity at Southside Elementary School?
Student demographics at Southside Elementary School are roughly 13% White, 49% Hispanic, 26% Black, 4% Asian, 8% Two or more.
Is Southside Elementary School public or private?
Southside Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Madison Metropolitan School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.