Enrollment
370
Illinois · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Piasa, IL
Southwestern High School
Federal NCES profile for Southwestern High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 26/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 173150003320
👥 S:T ratio 52
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 12
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Southwestern High School earns 26/100 on the Resource Investment Index, even as it posts class sizes smaller than 73% of Illinois schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Illinois schools.
- 26
- Resource Index · Lower
- 11.9:1
- small classes for Illinois
- 370
- students enrolled
Southwestern High School has class sizes smaller than 73% of Illinois schools. Computed live against every Illinois school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Southwestern Cusd 9 · Illinois
NCES ID 173150003320 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
31.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.9:1
vs 14:1 Illinois avg
-15% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Southwestern High School compares with Illinois and U.S. medians
What stands out at Southwestern High School
Southwestern High School is a mid-sized high school in Piasa, Illinois, enrolling 370 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 11.9:1 puts it in the smaller third of Illinois schools by student-teacher ratio.
With 370 students, its enrollment sits close to the Illinois median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 3,845 scored Illinois schools.
Its student body is predominantly White (94% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 11/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 2 Advanced Placement courses.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 35.1% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The federal civil-rights collection also records 2 expulsions at this campus for 2021-22.
Southwestern Cusd 9 also operates Brighton North Primary School (293 students) and Southwestern Middle School (171 students) alongside Southwestern High 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 Southwestern High School compares
Southwestern High School on the metrics families compare, against Illinois and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Illinois | Illinois avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 11.9:1 | ▼ 15% | 14:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 370 | top 50% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
11.9:1
Leaner classes than 76% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
370
Bigger than 43% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
11.9:1
students per teacher
- 15% below state mean
Top 27% in Illinois - lower ratio than 73% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
35.1%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$13,941
per pupil, district-wide
- below Illinois avg of $17,042
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
31
in-school suspensions + 12 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 8.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 11.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 2 expulsions.
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 94.3%
Hispanic or Latino 2.2%
African American 1.9%
Two or More 1.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Largest group: White at 94.3% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 11.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 11.0, Southwestern High School is less mixed than the Illinois school average of 38.9.
Programs
AP courses offered 2
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Southwestern Cusd 9, which includes Southwestern High School.
$13,941
Per student
-18%
vs Illinois
Avg $17,042
-16%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 38.0%
State 51.4%
Federal 10.5%
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 Southwestern High School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brighton North Primary School | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Southwestern Middle School | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| Medora Intermediate School | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| Shipman Elem School | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Southwestern High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 293
- Students per teacher
- 17.2:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
- Enrollment
- 171
- Students per teacher
- 11.4:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
- Enrollment
- 160
- Students per teacher
- 12.3:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
- Enrollment
- 155
- Students per teacher
- 14.1:1
- Resource Index
- 48/100
Similar high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Illinois, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~370 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~11.9:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Southwestern High School's federal record.
- Compare Southwestern High School against another school. Compare schools
- Southwestern Cusd 9'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 Southwestern High School
How many students attend Southwestern High School?
Southwestern High School has 370 students enrolled. It is a high school in Piasa, IL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Southwestern High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Southwestern High School is 11.9:1, which is 15% lower than the Illinois average of 14:1 and 24% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Southwestern High School?
The largest demographic group at Southwestern High School is White at 94.3% of enrollment, in Piasa, IL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Southwestern High School?
Southwestern High School has a Resource Investment Index of 26/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Southwestern High School a good school?
Southwestern High School earns 26/100 on the Resource Investment Index, even as it posts class sizes smaller than 73% of Illinois schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Illinois 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 Southwestern Cusd 9?
Besides Southwestern High School, Southwestern Cusd 9 also operates Brighton North Primary School (293 students), Southwestern Middle School (171 students), and Medora Intermediate School (160 students). See the Southwestern Cusd 9 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.