Enrollment
294
Tennessee · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Williston, TN
Southwest Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Southwest Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 39/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 470117000369
👥 S:T ratio 35
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 53
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Southwest Elementary earns 39/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 70% of Tennessee schools. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most Tennessee schools.
- 39
- Resource Index · Typical
- 16.3:1
- large classes for Tennessee
- 294
- students enrolled
Southwest Elementary has class sizes larger than 70% of Tennessee schools. Computed live against every Tennessee school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Fayette County Public Schools · Tennessee
NCES ID 470117000369 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
18.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.3:1
vs 15.3:1 Tennessee avg
+7% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Southwest Elementary compares with Tennessee and U.S. medians
What stands out at Southwest Elementary
Southwest Elementary is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Williston, Tennessee, enrolling 294 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 16.3:1 puts it in the larger third of Tennessee schools by student-teacher ratio.
Enrollment of 294 puts it in the smaller third of Tennessee schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,838 scored Tennessee schools.
Its student body is led by African American (53%) and White (31%), more mixed than most schools in the state (diversity index 61/100).
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 18.7% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Its district draws 27.1% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Fayette County Public Schools also operates Fayette Ware Comprehensive High School (724 students) and Oakland Elementary (621 students) alongside Southwest 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 Southwest Elementary compares
Southwest Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Tennessee and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Tennessee | Tennessee avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.3:1 | ▲ 7% | 15.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 294 | top 78% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
16.3:1
Leaner classes than 36% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
294
Bigger than 31% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
16.3:1
students per teacher
- 7% above state mean
Top 70% in Tennessee - lower ratio than 30% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
18.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$11,140
per pupil, district-wide
- above Tennessee avg of $10,822
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 15 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 5.1 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
African American 53.1%
White 31.0%
Hispanic or Latino 11.9%
Two or More 3.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.7%
Largest group: African American at 53.1% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 60.7/100
Simpson diversity index - at 60.7, Southwest Elementary is more mixed than the Tennessee school average of 38.3.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Fayette County Public Schools, which includes Southwest Elementary.
$11,140
Per student
+3%
vs Tennessee
Avg $10,822
-33%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 28.6%
State 44.3%
Federal 27.1%
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 Southwest Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fayette Ware Comprehensive High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| Oakland Elementary | Larger | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| Buckley-Carpenter Elementary School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| West Junior High School | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| East Jr. High School | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Southwest Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 724
- Students per teacher
- 15.7:1
- Resource Index
- 36/100
- Enrollment
- 621
- Students per teacher
- 17.7:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
- Enrollment
- 491
- Students per teacher
- 15.8:1
- Resource Index
- 50/100
- Enrollment
- 340
- Students per teacher
- 17:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 243
- Students per teacher
- 16.2:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Tennessee, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~294 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~16.3:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Southwest Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Southwest Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Fayette 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 Southwest Elementary
How many students attend Southwest Elementary?
Southwest Elementary has 294 students enrolled. It is a public school in Williston, TN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Southwest Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Southwest Elementary is 16.3:1, which is 7% higher than the Tennessee average of 15.3:1 and 4% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Southwest Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Southwest Elementary is African American at 53.1% of enrollment, in Williston, TN. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 60.7/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Southwest Elementary?
Southwest Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 39/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Southwest Elementary a good school?
Southwest Elementary earns 39/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 70% of Tennessee schools. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most Tennessee 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 Fayette County Public Schools?
Besides Southwest Elementary, Fayette County Public Schools also operates Fayette Ware Comprehensive High School (724 students), Oakland Elementary (621 students), and Buckley-Carpenter Elementary School (491 students). See the Fayette 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.