Southern Elementary School

Summary:

Southern Elementary School is a public elementary school located in Lexington, Kentucky, serving grades PK-5 with a total enrollment of 526 students. The school is part of the Fayette County School District, which is ranked 77 out of 159 districts in Kentucky and is rated 3 stars out of 5 by SchoolDigger.

Southern Elementary School has consistently ranked in the bottom half of Kentucky elementary schools over the past several years, with a ranking between 450 and 638 out of around 700 schools. The school has been rated 1 or 0 stars out of 5 by SchoolDigger for most of the past decade, indicating below-average performance compared to other schools in the state. The school's academic performance is particularly low in Mathematics and Reading, with proficiency rates ranging from 20-40% and 34-44% respectively, compared to the state averages of 41-47% and 46-50%. The school's performance is also especially low for certain student subgroups, such as Male students, English Language Learners, and Low Socioeconomic Status students.

While Stonewall Elementary, Clays Mill Elementary, and Wellington Elementary generally outperform Southern Elementary School across academic metrics, the school has a relatively low student-teacher ratio, suggesting that factors beyond just staffing may be contributing to the school's challenges. To address these issues, the school and district should consider implementing targeted interventions, providing additional professional development for teachers, and exploring community partnerships and family engagement initiatives.


Detail:

Public PK, KG-5

 340 Wilson Downing Rd
       Lexington, KY  40517-1431


(859) 381-3589

District: Fayette County

SchoolDigger Rank:
514th of 685 Kentucky Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $20,339 Help


Students who attend Southern Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:    Southern Middle School
High:    Tates Creek High School

Student/teacher ratio:  10.8 Help
Number of students:  490

Racial breakdown:

White:
36.1%
African American:
27.3%
Hispanic:
18.6%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  61.8% Help


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Performance Trends
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Compare Details Southern Elementary School ranks worse than 75% of elementary schools in Kentucky. It also ranks 24th among 38 ranked elementary schools in the Fayette County School District. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 28.07. (See more...)
Help
Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.
Student Body
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Compare Details Student population at Southern Elementary School is diverse. Racial makeup is: White (36.1%), African American (27.3%), Hispanic (18.6%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 61.8% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Southern Elementary School is 10.8, which is the 14th best among 38 elementary schools in the Fayette County School District. (See more...)
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Compare Southern Elementary School employs 45.2 full-time teachers.
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at Southern Elementary School is $20,339, which is the 15th highest among 38 elementary schools in the Fayette County School District.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Southern Elementary School:

SchoolDigger ranks Southern Elementary School 514th of 685 Kentucky public elementary schools. (See Southern Elementary School in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


English Language Learner students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Male students:
African American students:
Hispanic students:
White students:


Fayette County:

SchoolDigger ranks Fayette County 77th of 159 Kentucky school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Your rating for Southern Elementary School?

Rank History for Southern Elementary School

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Compare

Rank History for all students at Southern Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools KY State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2007 39.81 404th 638 36.7%
2008 54.16 312th 651 52.1%
2009 47.37 376th 658 42.9%
2010 60.39 270th 683 60.5%
2011 45.58 413th 688 40.0%
2012 25.67 590th 713 17.3%
2013 25.98 595th 719 17.2%
2014 18.08 638th 705 9.5%
2015 40.91 450th 698 35.5%
2016 32.65 525th 690 23.9%
2017 20.99 593rd 694 14.6%
2018 23.11 589th 691 14.8%
2019 34.08 523rd 700 25.3%
2021 14.23 483rd 517 6.6%
2022 19.03 587th 684 14.2%
2023 29.15 497th 687 27.7%
2024 28.07 514th 685 25.0%
See the entire list of Kentucky Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Southern Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools KY State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 29.47 32nd 43 25.6%
See the entire list of Best Kentucky Elementary Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Southern Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools KY State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 45.49 41st 81 49.4%
2019 21.43 88th 96 8.3%
2023 35.47 44th 65 32.3%
2024 30.37 47th 64 26.6%
See the entire list of Best Kentucky Elementary Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Southern Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools KY State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 15.86 584th 661 11.6%
See the entire list of Best Kentucky Elementary Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Southern Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools KY State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 16.24 582nd 631 7.8%
2019 26.95 542nd 664 18.4%
2022 15.24 613th 667 8.1%
2023 27.70 515th 670 23.1%
2024 23.79 537th 665 19.2%
See the entire list of Best Kentucky Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Southern Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools KY State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 23.77 569th 663 14.2%
2019 44.76 421st 671 37.3%
2022 26.59 499th 641 22.2%
2023 39.38 396th 639 38.0%
2024 32.73 460th 644 28.6%
See the entire list of Best Kentucky Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Southern Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools KY State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 33.65 298th 445 33.0%
See the entire list of Best Kentucky Elementary Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Male students at Southern Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools KY State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 24.08 565th 665 15.0%
2019 27.75 547th 676 19.1%
2022 11.62 610th 657 7.2%
2023 13.92 599th 652 8.1%
2024 20.75 550th 652 15.6%
See the entire list of Best Kentucky Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for African American students at Southern Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools KY State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 38.83 116th 184 37.0%
2019 54.79 71st 185 61.6%
2023 33.16 86th 129 33.3%
2024 27.89 105th 140 25.0%
See the entire list of Best Kentucky Elementary Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Southern Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools KY State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 33.71 121st 153 20.9%
2019 36.72 108th 152 28.9%
2022 20.98 100th 114 12.3%
2023 38.76 74th 120 38.3%
2024 41.68 77th 135 43.0%
See the entire list of Best Kentucky Elementary Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Southern Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools KY State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 34.27 424th 593 28.5%
2019 45.59 333rd 592 43.8%
2021 35.72 232nd 337 31.2%
2022 31.93 455th 656 30.6%
2023 52.12 296th 658 55.0%
2024 53.88 283rd 659 57.1%
See the entire list of Best Kentucky Elementary Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Kentucky Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Southern Elementary School Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 





Data source: Kentucky Department of Education

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 1)
0%

0%

0%

0%

100%

  

Reviews:
by a parent
Thursday, August 6, 2015

Open Quote The Principal at Southern Elementary,,,, is such as poor excuse for a school,"" PRINCIPAL ""... Students are suppose to look up to & parents should appreciate..... NOT POSSIBLE WITH HER!!!!!!!!!!!! Southern is in desperate need of a "" REAL PRINCIPAL"" So the total outlook on the school could be """ POSITIVE """ Close Quote



Enrollment information for Southern Elementary School

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Compare
Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1988 999 43 5 0 0 n/a n/a 0 1047
1989 682 90 23 6 2 n/a n/a 0 803
1990 698 87 32 3 0 n/a n/a 0 820
1991 664 36 21 1 0 n/a n/a 0 722
1992 662 36 32 3 1 n/a n/a 14 748
1993 687 36 42 3 0 n/a n/a 0 768
1994 734 41 42 3 1 n/a n/a 0 821
1995 792 72 30 4 0 n/a n/a 0 898
1996 792 72 30 4 0 n/a n/a 0 898
1997 797 94 18 3 0 n/a n/a 0 912
1998 533 68 12 7 0 n/a n/a 9 629
1999 576 113 0 2 0 n/a n/a 0 691
2000 531 118 0 1 0 n/a n/a 0 650
2001 479 127 32 0 1 n/a n/a 0 639
2002 450 118 30 7 1 n/a n/a 0 606
2003 450 118 30 7 1 n/a n/a 0 606
2004 479 128 21 8 5 n/a n/a 0 641
2005 461 139 32 17 2 n/a n/a 0 651
2006 464 148 28 31 0 n/a n/a 0 671
2007 414 165 23 38 1 n/a n/a 35 676
2008 401 163 20 41 1 n/a n/a 50 676
2009 374 191 20 62 2 n/a n/a 56 705
2010 347 184 13 67 5 n/a n/a 49 665
2011 381 173 13 76 3 1 51 0 698
2012 365 195 15 71 4 1 41 0 692
2013 344 175 21 72 1 2 48 0 663
2014 333 182 21 86 5 1 50 0 678
2015 315 187 23 64 1 1 53 0 644
2016 299 193 15 67 1 0 50 0 625
2017 275 170 14 73 1 0 39 0 572
2018 256 166 9 79 1 0 41 0 552
2019 255 173 14 81 1 0 46 0 570
2020 247 162 18 73 3 0 56 0 559
2021 183 135 14 72 0 0 52 0 456
2022 182 142 15 83 2 1 56 0 481
2023 195 154 25 88 1 2 61 0 526
2024 177 134 28 91 2 1 57 0 490

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Southern Elementary School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 1047 48.8 21.4 n/a
1989 803 42.4 18.9 n/a
1990 820 41.8 19.6 n/a
1991 722 37.2 19.4 n/a
1992 748 37.1 20.1 n/a
1993 768 39.3 19.5 n/a
1994 821 40.9 20.1 n/a
1995 898 47.5 18.9 n/a
1996 898 47.5 18.9 n/a
1997 912 47.7 19.1 12.3
1998 629 34.9 18.0 15.5
1999 691 25.0 29.0 32.9
2000 650 30.8 22.6 36.2
2001 639 28.8 22.7 37.4
2002 606 39.9 15.2 54
2003 606 39.9 15.2 54
2004 641 43.6 14.7 n/a
2005 651 46.6 14.0 n/a
2006 671 46.0 14.6 52.5
2007 676 42.0 16.1 56.2
2008 676 42.2 16.0 56.4
2009 705 41.2 17.1 62.9
2010 665 39.9 16.6 68.5
2011 698 43.5 16.0 64.3
2012 692 51.1 13.5 56.1
2013 663 47.9 13.8 60.5
2014 678 46.5 14.5 66.7
2015 644 45.0 14.3 65.4
2016 625 45.0 13.8 69.6
2017 572 38.9 14.7 61
2018 552 37.7 14.6 73.2
2019 570 40.4 14.1 56.5
2020 559 40.3 13.8 63
2021 456 42.7 10.6 67.1
2022 481 42.7 11.2 60.3
2023 526 40.5 12.9 60.8
2024 490 45.2 10.8 61.8

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Southern Elementary School

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Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 1047 48.8 21.4 n/a
1989 803 42.4 18.9 n/a
1990 820 41.8 19.6 n/a
1991 722 37.2 19.4 n/a
1992 748 37.1 20.1 n/a
1993 768 39.3 19.5 n/a
1994 821 40.9 20.1 n/a
1995 898 47.5 18.9 n/a
1996 898 47.5 18.9 n/a
1997 912 47.7 19.1 12.3
1998 629 34.9 18.0 15.5
1999 691 25.0 29.0 32.9
2000 650 30.8 22.6 36.2
2001 639 28.8 22.7 37.4
2002 606 39.9 15.2 54
2003 606 39.9 15.2 54
2004 641 43.6 14.7 n/a
2005 651 46.6 14.0 n/a
2006 671 46.0 14.6 52.5
2007 676 42.0 16.1 56.2
2008 676 42.2 16.0 56.4
2009 705 41.2 17.1 62.9
2010 665 39.9 16.6 68.5
2011 698 43.5 16.0 64.3
2012 692 51.1 13.5 56.1
2013 663 47.9 13.8 60.5
2014 678 46.5 14.5 66.7
2015 644 45.0 14.3 65.4
2016 625 45.0 13.8 69.6
2017 572 38.9 14.7 61
2018 552 37.7 14.6 73.2
2019 570 40.4 14.1 56.5
2020 559 40.3 13.8 63
2021 456 42.7 10.6 67.1
2022 481 42.7 11.2 60.3
2023 526 40.5 12.9 60.8
2024 490 45.2 10.8 61.8

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.
Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for Southern Elementary School

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YearPersonnel Expenditures from Federal FundsNon-Personnel Expenditures from Federal FundsTotal Expenditures from Federal FundsPersonnel Expenditures from State and Local FundsNon-Personnel Expenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2018 $572 (3.6%) $111 (0.7%) $683 (4.3%) $11,695 (73.7%) $1,901 (12.0%) $13,597 (85.7%) $15,873
2019 $652 (4.3%) $257 (1.7%) $907 (5.9%) $11,163 (72.9%) $1,721 (11.2%) $12,883 (84.2%) $15,306
2020 $579 (3.4%) $105 (0.6%) $684 (4.1%) $12,154 (72.4%) $1,721 (10.3%) $13,875 (82.6%) $16,789
2021 $1,023 (5.6%) $448 (2.5%) $1,470 (8.1%) $13,823 (76.1%) $1,492 (8.2%) $15,174 (83.5%) $18,172
2022 $1,762 (8.7%) $382 (1.9%) $2,144 (10.5%) $13,940 (68.5%) $2,215 (10.9%) $16,155 (79.4%) $20,339

Data source: Kentucky Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Southern Elementary School

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Rank
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Ranks 523rd of 700 Elementary schoolsRanks 497th of 687 Elementary schools
 2.4%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students570526
 7.7%
African American173154
 11%
American Indian11
Asian1425
 78.6%
Hispanic8188
 8.6%
Pacific Islander02
White255195
 23.5%
Two or More Races4661
 32.6%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients56.5%60.8%
 4.3%


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Frequently Asked Questions about Southern Elementary School

Students who attend Southern Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Southern Middle School
High : Tates Creek High School

Students at Southern Elementary School are 36% White, 27% African American, 19% Hispanic, 12% Two or more races, 6% Asian.

In the 2023-24 school year, 490 students attended Southern Elementary School.

Southern Elementary School ranks in the bottom 25.0% of Kentucky elementary schools.


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Kentucky Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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