Enrollment
585
Alabama · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Southside, AL
Southside Elementary School
Federal NCES profile for Southside Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 46/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 010138001509
👥 S:T ratio 29
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 85
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Southside Elementary School earns 46/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Alabama median.
- 46
- Resource Index · Typical
- 17.7:1
- students per teacher
- 36.3%
- free-lunch eligible
- 585
- students enrolled
Southside Elementary School has class sizes near the Alabama median. Computed live against every Alabama school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Etowah County · Alabama
NCES ID 010138001509 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
33.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17.7:1
vs 17.7:1 Alabama avg
+0% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
36.3%
vs 58.8% Alabama avg
-38% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Southside Elementary School compares with Alabama and U.S. medians
What stands out at Southside Elementary School
Southside Elementary School is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Southside, Alabama, enrolling 585 students.
At 17.7:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Alabama median, within a few percentage points of the 17.7:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 36.3% free-meal eligibility runs 38% below the Alabama average.
Enrollment of 585 puts it in the larger third of Alabama schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 1,365 scored Alabama schools.
Against 261 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #33.
Its student body is predominantly White (87% of enrollment) (diversity index 24/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 585 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance holds up well here: only 6.0% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
Its district draws 18.3% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Etowah County also operates Southside High School (825 students) and John S Jones Elementary School (745 students) alongside Southside Elementary School.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Southside Elementary School compares
Southside Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against Alabama and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Alabama | Alabama avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 17.7:1 | ▼ 0% | 17.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 36.3% | ▼ 38% | 58.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 585 | top 32% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
17.7:1
Leaner classes than 26% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
585
Bigger than 71% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
36.3%
free-lunch eligible
- 38% below the Alabama average of 58.8%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
17.7:1
students per teacher
- 0% above state mean
Top 55% in Alabama - lower ratio than 45% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
6.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$10,738
per pupil, district-wide
- below Alabama avg of $12,491
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 585 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
8
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
White 86.8%
Two or More 5.3%
Hispanic or Latino 5.1%
African American 1.4%
Asian 0.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 86.8% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 24.1/100
Simpson diversity index - at 24.1, Southside Elementary School is less mixed than the Alabama school average of 42.5.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Etowah County, which includes Southside Elementary School.
$10,738
Per student
-14%
vs Alabama
Avg $12,491
-35%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 16.7%
State 64.9%
Federal 18.3%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
How Southside Elementary School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southside High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| John S Jones Elementary School | Larger | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Rainbow Middle School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Hokes Bluff Elementary School | Similar size | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Sardis High School | Similar size | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Southside Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 825
- Students per teacher
- 19.6:1
- Resource Index
- 20/100
- Enrollment
- 745
- Students per teacher
- 16.2:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
- Enrollment
- 634
- Students per teacher
- 19.8:1
- Resource Index
- 38/100
- Enrollment
- 610
- Students per teacher
- 17.4:1
- Resource Index
- 37/100
- Enrollment
- 546
- Students per teacher
- 18.8:1
- Resource Index
- 14/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Alabama, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~585 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Southside Elementary School's federal record.
- Compare Southside Elementary School against another school. Compare schools
- Etowah County's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Southside Elementary School
How many students attend Southside Elementary School?
Southside Elementary School has 585 students enrolled. It is a public school in Southside, AL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Southside Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Southside Elementary School is 17.7:1, which is 0% higher than the Alabama average of 17.7:1 and 13% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Southside Elementary School?
36.3% of students at Southside Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alabama average of 58.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Southside Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Southside Elementary School is White at 86.8% of enrollment, in Southside, AL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Southside Elementary School?
Southside Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Southside Elementary School a good school?
Southside Elementary School earns 46/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Alabama median. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in Etowah County?
Besides Southside Elementary School, Etowah County also operates Southside High School (825 students), John S Jones Elementary School (745 students), and Rainbow Middle School (634 students). See the Etowah County district page for the complete list.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.