Enrollment
428
Virginia · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Blairs, VA
Southside Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Southside Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 52/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 510294001224
👥 S:T ratio 51
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 14
📋 Attendance 74
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Southside Elementary earns 52/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 76% of Virginia schools.
- 52
- Resource Index · Higher
- 12.2:1
- small classes for Virginia
- 82.1%
- free-lunch eligible
- 428
- students enrolled
Southside Elementary has class sizes smaller than 76% of Virginia schools. Computed live against every Virginia school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Pittsylvania County Public Schools · Virginia
NCES ID 510294001224 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
35.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.2:1
vs 13.9:1 Virginia avg
-12% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
82.1%
vs 57.6% Virginia avg
+43% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Southside Elementary compares with Virginia and U.S. medians
What stands out at Southside Elementary
Southside Elementary is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Blairs, Virginia, enrolling 428 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.2:1 puts it in the smaller third of Virginia schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 82.1% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 428 puts it in the smaller third of Virginia schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,868 scored Virginia schools.
Against 382 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #123.
Its student body is led by White (60%) and African American (31%) (diversity index 55/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 428 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
10.3% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
Pittsylvania County Public Schools also operates Tunstall High (800 students) and Twin Springs Elementary (618 students) alongside Southside Elementary.
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 compares
Southside Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Virginia and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Virginia | Virginia avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.2:1 | ▼ 12% | 13.9:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 82.1% | ▲ 43% | 57.6% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 428 | top 69% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.2:1
Leaner classes than 74% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
428
Bigger than 52% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
82.1%
free-lunch eligible
- 43% above the Virginia average of 57.6%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
12.2:1
students per teacher
- 12% below state mean
Top 24% in Virginia - lower ratio than 76% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
10.3%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 10-15% range, above the pre-pandemic national baseline but within the broader post-pandemic picture.
Funding equity
$12,616
per pupil, district-wide
- below Virginia avg of $14,649
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 428 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
11
in-school suspensions + 17 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 6.5 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 59.6%
African American 30.8%
Two or More 4.7%
Hispanic or Latino 4.4%
Asian 0.5%
Largest group: White at 59.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 54.6/100
Simpson diversity index - at 54.6, Southside Elementary is about as mixed as the Virginia school average of 53.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Pittsylvania County Public Schools, which includes Southside Elementary.
$12,616
Per student
-14%
vs Virginia
Avg $14,649
-24%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 23.1%
State 62.5%
Federal 14.4%
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 Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tunstall High | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Twin Springs Elementary | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Tunstall Middle | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Chatham High | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Dan River High | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Southside Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 800
- Students per teacher
- 14.3:1
- Resource Index
- 49/100
- Enrollment
- 618
- Students per teacher
- 14:1
- Resource Index
- 48/100
- Enrollment
- 609
- Students per teacher
- 13.8:1
- Resource Index
- 50/100
- Enrollment
- 609
- Students per teacher
- 14.5:1
- Resource Index
- 56/100
- Enrollment
- 583
- Students per teacher
- 13.3:1
- Resource Index
- 51/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Virginia, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~428 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~12.2:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Southside Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Southside Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Pittsylvania County Public Schools'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
How many students attend Southside Elementary?
Southside Elementary has 428 students enrolled. It is a public school in Blairs, VA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Southside Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Southside Elementary is 12.2:1, which is 12% lower than the Virginia average of 13.9:1 and 22% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Southside Elementary?
82.1% of students at Southside Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Virginia average of 57.6%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Southside Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Southside Elementary is White at 59.6% of enrollment, in Blairs, VA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 54.6/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Southside Elementary?
Southside Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 52/100 (higher 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 a good school?
Southside Elementary earns 52/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 76% of Virginia schools. 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 Pittsylvania County Public Schools?
Besides Southside Elementary, Pittsylvania County Public Schools also operates Tunstall High (800 students), Twin Springs Elementary (618 students), and Tunstall Middle (609 students). See the Pittsylvania County Public Schools 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.