Southwestern Elementary

Summary:

Southwestern Elementary is a public elementary school in Suffolk, Virginia, serving 595 students in grades PK-5. The school is part of the Suffolk City Public Schools district, which is ranked 66 out of 130 districts in the state and has a 2-star rating.

Southwestern Elementary has a higher percentage of White students (60%) compared to nearby schools, which tend to have more African American students. The school's academic performance, as measured by SOL test scores, is generally on par with or slightly below district and state averages, with variations across grade levels and subjects. For example, 3rd-grade math scores outperform the district and state, but 4th and 5th-grade math scores are lower. The school has a relatively high percentage of students (64%) receiving free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a higher proportion of students from low-income families. Southwestern Elementary's statewide ranking has fluctuated over the years, ranging from 380 out of 1,099 Virginia elementary schools in 2016-2017 to 698 out of 1,103 in 2020-2021.

While Southwestern Elementary's overall performance is relatively strong, there are notable disparities in the performance of different racial subgroups. The school's White students consistently rank in the bottom quartile of Virginia elementary schools, while the African American students perform better, ranking in the top third. When compared to other nearby schools in the Suffolk City Public Schools district, Southwestern Elementary generally performs on par or slightly below the district averages, with the exception of Oakland Elementary, which consistently outperforms Southwestern Elementary and the district as a whole.


Detail:

Public PK, KG-5

 150 Pioneer Rd
       Suffolk, VA  23437


(757) 925-5782

District: Suffolk City Public Schools

SchoolDigger Rank:
642nd of 1,114 Virginia Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $7,978 Help


Students who attend Southwestern Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    Forest Glen Middle
High:    Lakeland High

Student/teacher ratio:  16.5 Help
Number of students:  595

Racial breakdown:

White:
60.0%
African American:
24.9%
Two or more races:
7.2%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  64% Help


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Performance Trends
Help
Compare Details Southwestern Elementary ranks worse than 57.6% of elementary schools in Virginia. It also ranks 6th among 11 ranked elementary schools in the Suffolk City Public Schools District. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 47.84. (See more...)
Help
Chronic absenteeism in a high 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
Help
Compare Details Southwestern Elementary has the largest elementary school student body size in the Suffolk City Public Schools District.  (See more...)
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at Southwestern Elementary is $7,978. 6 elementary schools in the Suffolk City Public Schools District spend more per student.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Southwestern Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Southwestern Elementary 642nd of 1114 Virginia public elementary schools. (See Southwestern Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Multi-racial students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Military Connected students:
Male students:
African American students:
White students:


Suffolk City Public Schools:

SchoolDigger ranks Suffolk City Public Schools 66th of 130 Virginia school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for Southwestern Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Southwestern Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools VA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2005 58.45 457th 1062 57.0%
2006 55.91 506th 1071 52.8%
2007 70.58 260th 1083 76.0%
2008 60.78 428th 1081 60.4%
2009 59.28 441st 1082 59.2%
2010 61.47 420th 1113 62.3%
2011 53.00 580th 1117 48.1%
2012 53.03 575th 1117 48.5%
2013 49.57 606th 1120 45.9%
2014 54.15 538th 1110 51.5%
2017 64.88 380th 1099 65.4%
2018 62.54 438th 1097 60.1%
2019 56.74 535th 1105 51.6%
2021 41.31 698th 1103 36.7%
2022 54.60 540th 1109 51.3%
2023 52.15 592nd 1114 46.9%
2024 47.84 642nd 1114 42.4%
See the entire list of Virginia Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Southwestern Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools VA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2024 9.39 240th 247 2.8%
See the entire list of Best Virginia Elementary Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Southwestern Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools VA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2024 52.84 514th 1036 50.4%
See the entire list of Best Virginia Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Southwestern Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools VA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 51.99 577th 1100 47.5%
2024 44.79 674th 1098 38.6%
See the entire list of Best Virginia Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Military Connected students at Southwestern Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools VA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2024 38.22 137th 195 29.7%
See the entire list of Best Virginia Elementary Schools for Military Connected Students!

Rank History for Male students at Southwestern Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools VA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 50.33 586th 1093 46.4%
2024 49.02 615th 1101 44.1%
See the entire list of Best Virginia Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for African American students at Southwestern Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools VA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 64.05 201st 579 65.3%
2024 64.29 207th 588 64.8%
See the entire list of Best Virginia Elementary Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for White students at Southwestern Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools VA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 26.99 813th 984 17.4%
2024 26.05 794th 979 18.9%
See the entire list of Best Virginia Elementary Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Virginia 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.

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





Data source: Virginia Department of Education

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 5)
100%

0%

0%

0%

0%

  

Reviews:
No reviews have been submitted!


Enrollment information for Southwestern Elementary

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1989 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 678 678
1990 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 640 640
1991 0 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a 523 523
1992 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 536 536
1993 205 267 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 472
1994 200 277 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 477
1995 218 214 2 5 0 n/a n/a 0 439
1996 218 214 2 5 0 n/a n/a 0 439
1997 215 244 0 13 0 n/a n/a 0 472
1998 231 239 0 6 0 n/a n/a 0 476
1999 206 207 0 5 0 n/a n/a 0 418
2000 245 165 0 6 0 n/a n/a -4 412
2001 239 141 0 4 0 n/a n/a 0 384
2002 248 129 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 377
2003 248 129 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 377
2004 263 116 0 2 0 n/a n/a 0 381
2005 272 112 1 2 2 n/a n/a 2 391
2006 267 102 1 1 0 n/a n/a 2 373
2007 265 93 1 1 0 n/a n/a 4 364
2008 253 93 0 0 0 n/a n/a 8 354
2009 236 94 1 2 0 n/a n/a 15 348
2010 243 95 2 4 0 n/a n/a 17 361
2011 246 92 1 6 2 0 20 0 367
2012 312 115 2 19 4 0 22 0 474
2013 319 112 3 17 4 0 21 0 476
2014 334 113 1 18 2 0 20 0 488
2015 354 129 0 19 2 1 24 0 529
2016 383 157 1 28 3 1 25 0 598
2017 376 172 2 26 4 1 30 0 611
2018 393 173 1 29 3 0 40 0 639
2019 376 174 2 26 3 1 45 0 627
2020 387 169 3 24 2 1 44 0 630
2021 341 158 3 23 1 0 32 0 558
2022 339 140 2 34 1 0 32 0 548
2023 357 148 3 42 1 1 43 0 595

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 Southwestern Elementary

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1989 678 43.2 15.6 n/a
1990 640 41.9 15.2 n/a
1991 523 30.8 16.9 n/a
1992 536 31.4 17.0 n/a
1993 472 28.0 16.9 n/a
1994 477 19.8 n/a 54.5
1995 439 n/a 0.0 45.6
1996 439 n/a 0.0 45.6
1997 472 n/a 0.0 44.1
1998 476 n/a 0.0 46.4
1999 418 33.0 12.7 51.4
2000 412 n/a 0.0 37.3
2001 384 25.0 15.4 32
2002 377 27.0 14.0 32.6
2003 377 27.0 14.0 32.6
2004 381 24.0 15.9 37.8
2005 391 23.0 17.0 36
2006 373 27.0 13.8 31.8
2007 364 27.5 13.2 29.2
2008 354 21.0 16.9 33.2
2009 348 21.0 16.6 42
2010 361 21.0 17.1 44.2
2011 367 20.0 18.3 44.1
2012 474 26.0 18.2 41.6
2013 476 27.0 17.6 43.1
2014 488 26.0 18.7 47.5
2015 529 28.0 18.8 47.6
2016 598 36.0 16.6 48.5
2017 611 35.3 17.2 43.7
2018 639 34.4 18.5 46.8
2019 627 34.8 17.9 45.3
2020 630 35.4 17.7 46.2
2021 558 35.6 15.6 n/a
2022 548 35.6 15.3 53.1
2023 595 36.0 16.5 64

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 Southwestern Elementary

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1989 678 43.2 15.6 n/a
1990 640 41.9 15.2 n/a
1991 523 30.8 16.9 n/a
1992 536 31.4 17.0 n/a
1993 472 28.0 16.9 n/a
1994 477 19.8 n/a 54.5
1995 439 n/a 0.0 45.6
1996 439 n/a 0.0 45.6
1997 472 n/a 0.0 44.1
1998 476 n/a 0.0 46.4
1999 418 33.0 12.7 51.4
2000 412 n/a 0.0 37.3
2001 384 25.0 15.4 32
2002 377 27.0 14.0 32.6
2003 377 27.0 14.0 32.6
2004 381 24.0 15.9 37.8
2005 391 23.0 17.0 36
2006 373 27.0 13.8 31.8
2007 364 27.5 13.2 29.2
2008 354 21.0 16.9 33.2
2009 348 21.0 16.6 42
2010 361 21.0 17.1 44.2
2011 367 20.0 18.3 44.1
2012 474 26.0 18.2 41.6
2013 476 27.0 17.6 43.1
2014 488 26.0 18.7 47.5
2015 529 28.0 18.8 47.6
2016 598 36.0 16.6 48.5
2017 611 35.3 17.2 43.7
2018 639 34.4 18.5 46.8
2019 627 34.8 17.9 45.3
2020 630 35.4 17.7 46.2
2021 558 35.6 15.6 n/a
2022 548 35.6 15.3 53.1
2023 595 36.0 16.5 64

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 Southwestern Elementary

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YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $448 (8.3%) $4,933 (91.7%) $5,382
2020 $372 (6.5%) $5,393 (93.5%) $5,765
2021 $596 (7.5%) $7,382 (92.5%) $7,978

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

Impact of COVID-19 on Southwestern Elementary

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 535th of 1105 Elementary schoolsRanks 592nd of 1114 Elementary schools
 4.7%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
3rd Grade Mathematics (Southwestern Elementary)8779.4
 7.6%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (Suffolk City Public Schools)8071.2
 8.8%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (Virginia)8269.1
 12.9%
3rd Grade English Reading (Southwestern Elementary)7062.4
 7.6%
   3rd Grade English Reading (Suffolk City Public Schools)7164.4
 6.6%
   3rd Grade English Reading (Virginia)7166.1
 4.9%
4th Grade Mathematics (Southwestern Elementary)8871.3
 16.7%
   4th Grade Mathematics (Suffolk City Public Schools)8369.6
 13.4%
   4th Grade Mathematics (Virginia)8369.7
 13.3%
4th Grade English Reading (Southwestern Elementary)7568.1
 6.9%
   4th Grade English Reading (Suffolk City Public Schools)7270.8
 1.2%
   4th Grade English Reading (Virginia)7572.7
 2.3%
5th Grade Mathematics (Southwestern Elementary)8769.6
 17.4%
   5th Grade Mathematics (Suffolk City Public Schools)8567.1
 18%
   5th Grade Mathematics (Virginia)8167
 14%
5th Grade Science (Southwestern Elementary)8366.1
 16.9%
   5th Grade Science (Suffolk City Public Schools)8260.5
 21.5%
   5th Grade Science (Virginia)7966
 13%
5th Grade English Reading (Southwestern Elementary)7473.9
 0.1%
   5th Grade English Reading (Suffolk City Public Schools)7969.5
 9.6%
   5th Grade English Reading (Virginia)7871.4
 6.6%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students627595
 5.1%
African American174148
 14.9%
American Indian31
 66.7%
Asian23
 50%
Hispanic2642
 61.5%
Pacific Islander11
White376357
 5.1%
Two or More Races4543
 4.4%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients45.3%64%
 18.7%


Schools Near Southwestern Elementary









Frequently Asked Questions about Southwestern Elementary

In the 2022-23 school year, 595 students attended Southwestern Elementary.

Students who attend Southwestern Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Forest Glen Middle
High : Lakeland High

Students at Southwestern Elementary are 60% White, 25% African American, 7% Two or more races, 7% Hispanic.

Southwestern Elementary ranks 642nd of 1114 Virginia elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.


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