Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School

Summary:

Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School is an elementary school serving grades K-8 in Philadelphia, PA, with 619 students. The school is part of the Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School District, which is ranked 569 out of 610 districts in Pennsylvania and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Despite spending between $13,873 and $17,950 per student, which is higher than the state average, Southwest Leadership Academy significantly underperforms the state averages across all grade levels and subject areas on the PSSA exams. For example, in 2023-2024, only 7.7% of students were proficient or better in Math compared to the state average of 40.4%, and only 19.3% were proficient or better in English Language Arts compared to the state average of 53%. The school's performance is even more concerning for certain subgroups, ranking in the bottom 20% of Pennsylvania elementary schools for both female and male students, and in the bottom 30% for African American students, low socioeconomic status students, and disabled students. Additionally, the school has had high dropout rates in recent years, ranging from 1.6% to 9.8%, which is significantly higher than the state average.

When comparing Southwest Leadership Academy to the nearby William Penn School District and Philadelphia City School District public schools, it becomes clear that the charter school is significantly underperforming its traditional public school counterparts. For example, Colwyn Elementary School, which is less than a mile away, outperforms Southwest Leadership Academy across all subject areas and grade levels. Despite being in operation for over a decade, Southwest Leadership Academy has not shown any meaningful improvement in its academic performance or ranking over time, raising questions about the effectiveness of the school's educational model and the oversight provided by its charter authorizer.


Detail:

Public, Charter K-8

 7101 Paschall Ave
       Philadelphia, PA  19142


(215) 729-1939

District: Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School

SchoolDigger Rank:
1384th of 1,526 Pennsylvania Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $17,950 Help


Student/teacher ratio:  26.9 Help
Number of students:  619

Racial breakdown:

African American:
90.1%
Hispanic:
7.4%
Two or more races:
1.6%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  99.5% Help


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Performance Trends
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Compare Details Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School ranks worse than 90.7% of elementary schools in Pennsylvania. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 8.48. (See more...)
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Compare Details Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School ranks worse than 89% of middle schools in Pennsylvania. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 10.19. (See more...)
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The high school dropout rate measures the percentage of students who do not complete their high school education.
Student Body
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Compare Details Racial makeup is: African American (90.1%), Hispanic (7.4%), two or more races (1.6%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 99.5% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School is 26.9. (See more...)
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Compare Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School employs 23 full-time teachers.
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School is $17,950.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School:

SchoolDigger ranks Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School 1384th of 1526 Pennsylvania public elementary schools. (See Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Disabled students:
Male students:
African American students:

SchoolDigger ranks Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School 793rd of 891 Pennsylvania public middle schools. (See Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Disabled students:
Male students:
African American students:


Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School:

SchoolDigger ranks Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School 569th of 610 Pennsylvania school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School

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Compare

Rank History for all elementary school students at Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools PA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2010 1.92 1557th 1579 1.4%
2011 6.13 1535th 1597 3.9%
2012 18.25 1385th 1599 13.4%
2015 19.47 1190th 1474 19.3%
2016 12.90 1332nd 1554 14.3%
2017 13.41 1318th 1547 14.8%
2018 5.60 1429th 1530 6.6%
2019 4.95 1456th 1544 5.7%
2021 9.66 1261st 1433 12.0%
2022 7.05 1414th 1534 7.8%
2023 10.50 1351st 1534 11.9%
2024 8.48 1384th 1526 9.3%
See the entire list of Pennsylvania Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for elementary school Low Socio Economic Status students at Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools PA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 18.03 1194th 1414 15.6%
2024 11.94 1296th 1432 9.5%
See the entire list of Best Pennsylvania Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for elementary school Female students at Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools PA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2024 7.75 1368th 1488 8.1%
See the entire list of Best Pennsylvania Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for elementary school Disabled students at Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools PA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 23.35 832nd 1043 20.2%
2024 21.82 884th 1084 18.5%
See the entire list of Best Pennsylvania Elementary Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for elementary school Male students at Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools PA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2024 10.15 1345th 1495 10.0%
See the entire list of Best Pennsylvania Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for elementary school African American students at Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools PA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 41.90 235th 437 46.2%
2024 34.39 283rd 437 35.2%
See the entire list of Best Pennsylvania Elementary Schools for African American Students!

Data source: test scores: Pennsylvania Dept of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

Rank History for Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School

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Rank History for all middle school students at Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools PA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2012 24.09 676th 834 18.9%
2015 21.75 639th 835 23.5%
2016 21.62 670th 870 23.0%
2017 24.96 643rd 877 26.7%
2018 18.42 685th 861 20.4%
2019 12.23 758th 891 14.9%
2021 9.02 729th 797 8.5%
2022 10.00 786th 883 11.0%
2023 12.67 762nd 893 14.7%
2024 10.19 793rd 891 11.0%
See the entire list of Pennsylvania Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for middle school Low Socio Economic Status students at Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools PA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 21.16 697th 874 20.3%
2024 14.24 765th 877 12.8%
See the entire list of Best Pennsylvania Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for middle school Female students at Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools PA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2024 9.99 777th 860 9.7%
See the entire list of Best Pennsylvania Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for middle school Disabled students at Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools PA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 27.02 499th 660 24.4%
2024 20.74 582nd 672 13.4%
See the entire list of Best Pennsylvania Elementary Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for middle school Male students at Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools PA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2024 10.29 784th 870 9.9%
See the entire list of Best Pennsylvania Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for middle school African American students at Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools PA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 37.81 239th 421 43.2%
2024 31.03 275th 408 32.6%
See the entire list of Best Pennsylvania Elementary Schools for African American Students!

Data source: test scores: Pennsylvania Dept 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.

Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 









Data source: Pennsylvania Dept of Education

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Enrollment information for Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
2008 0 217 2 1 0 n/a n/a 0 220
2009 0 242 2 0 0 n/a n/a 0 244
2010 1 301 2 2 0 n/a n/a 0 306
2011 1 343 3 1 0 0 0 0 348
2012 0 406 4 0 0 0 1 0 411
2013 2 460 4 1 1 1 1 0 470
2014 2 479 4 1 1 1 1 0 489
2015 2 476 5 1 1 2 1 0 488
2016 1 476 2 1 1 2 2 0 485
2017 1 484 2 2 1 2 3 0 495
2018 1 492 3 5 0 0 1 0 502
2019 1 667 6 14 1 0 8 0 697
2020 0 690 6 17 2 0 5 0 720
2021 2 722 5 35 0 0 11 0 775
2022 2 686 4 37 0 0 9 0 738
2023 1 558 4 46 0 0 10 0 619

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 Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School

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Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
2008 220 10.5 21.0 n/a
2009 244 17.0 14.4 n/a
2010 306 19.0 16.1 54.6
2011 348 19.0 18.3 58.6
2012 411 23.0 17.8 77.9
2013 470 25.0 18.8 75.1
2014 489 24.0 20.3 72
2015 488 23.0 21.2 99.4
2016 485 24.0 20.2 99.4
2017 495 26.0 19.0 99.6
2018 502 25.0 20.0 99.2
2019 697 29.0 24.0 99.3
2020 720 34.5 20.8 98.9
2021 775 37.0 20.9 98.8
2022 738 35.0 21.0 99.6
2023 619 23.0 26.9 99.5

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 Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
2008 220 10.5 21.0 n/a
2009 244 17.0 14.4 n/a
2010 306 19.0 16.1 54.6
2011 348 19.0 18.3 58.6
2012 411 23.0 17.8 77.9
2013 470 25.0 18.8 75.1
2014 489 24.0 20.3 72
2015 488 23.0 21.2 99.4
2016 485 24.0 20.2 99.4
2017 495 26.0 19.0 99.6
2018 502 25.0 20.0 99.2
2019 697 29.0 24.0 99.3
2020 720 34.5 20.8 98.9
2021 775 37.0 20.9 98.8
2022 738 35.0 21.0 99.6
2023 619 23.0 26.9 99.5

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 Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School

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YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $1,071 (7.8%) $12,738 (92.2%) $13,810
2020 $00 (NaN) $00 (NaN) $00
2021 $1,705 (12.3%) $12,168 (87.7%) $13,873
2022 $3,452 (19.2%) $14,498 (80.8%) $17,950

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

Impact of COVID-19 on Southwest Leadership Academy Charter 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 1456th of 1544 Elementary schoolsRanks 1351st of 1534 Elementary schools
 6.2%
Ranks 758th of 891 Middle schoolsRanks 762nd of 893 Middle schools
 0.3%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
3rd Grade Math (Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School)17.517.2
 0.3%
   3rd Grade Math (Pennsylvania)5651.7
 4.3%
3rd Grade English Language Arts (Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School)29.634.4
 4.8%
   3rd Grade English Language Arts (Pennsylvania)61.954
 7.9%
4th Grade Math (Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School)11.517.9
 6.4%
   4th Grade Math (Pennsylvania)46.246.5
 0.3%
4th Grade Science (Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School)36.551.8
 15.3%
   4th Grade Science (Pennsylvania)77.874.1
 3.7%
4th Grade English Language Arts (Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School)2317.6
 5.4%
   4th Grade English Language Arts (Pennsylvania)63.651.8
 11.8%
5th Grade Math (Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School)144.8
 9.2%
   5th Grade Math (Pennsylvania)4342.7
 0.3%
5th Grade English Language Arts (Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School)1421.4
 7.4%
   5th Grade English Language Arts (Pennsylvania)58.553.6
 4.9%
6th Grade Math (Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School)3.83.3
 0.5%
   6th Grade Math (Pennsylvania)3936.4
 2.6%
6th Grade English Language Arts (Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School)15.128.3
 13.2%
   6th Grade English Language Arts (Pennsylvania)6355.6
 7.4%
7th Grade Math (Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School)11.56.3
 5.2%
   7th Grade Math (Pennsylvania)38.233.2
 5%
7th Grade English Language Arts (Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School)37.326.6
 10.7%
   7th Grade English Language Arts (Pennsylvania)60.554.5
 6%
8th Grade Math (Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School)7.19.7
 2.6%
   8th Grade Math (Pennsylvania)32.226
 6.2%
8th Grade Science (Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School)29.826.9
 2.9%
   8th Grade Science (Pennsylvania)58.257
 1.2%
8th Grade English Language Arts (Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School)33.324.4
 8.9%
   8th Grade English Language Arts (Pennsylvania)57.952.8
 5.1%
All Grades Math (Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School)11.710.1
 1.6%
   All Grades Math (Pennsylvania)42.439.3
 3.1%
All Grades Science (Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School)3343.6
 10.6%
   All Grades Science (Pennsylvania)6865.6
 2.4%
All Grades English Language Arts (Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School)2624.9
 1.1%
   All Grades English Language Arts (Pennsylvania)60.953.8
 7.1%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students697619
 11.2%
African American667558
 16.3%
American Indian10
 100%
Asian64
 33.3%
Hispanic1446
 228.6%
Pacific Islander00
White11
Two or More Races810
 25%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients99.3%99.5%
 0.2%


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Frequently Asked Questions about Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School

Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School ranks in the bottom 9.3% of Pennsylvania elementary schools.

In the 2022-23 school year, 619 students attended Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School.

Students at Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School are 90% African American, 7% Hispanic, 2% Two or more races.


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