Enrollment
171
Illinois · 2024-25 NCES data
Middle school (grades 6-8) · Piasa, IL
Southwestern Middle School
Federal NCES profile for Southwestern Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 42/100.
2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 173150003321
👥 S:T ratio 54
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 43
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Southwestern Middle School earns 42/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 78% of Illinois schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Illinois schools.
- 42
- Resource Index · Typical
- 11.4:1
- small classes for Illinois
- 171
- students enrolled
Southwestern Middle School has class sizes smaller than 78% of Illinois schools. Computed live against every Illinois school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Southwestern Cusd 9 · Illinois
NCES ID 173150003321 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
15.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.4:1
vs 14:1 Illinois avg
-19% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Southwestern Middle School compares with Illinois and U.S. medians
What stands out at Southwestern Middle School
Southwestern Middle School is a small middle school in Piasa, Illinois, enrolling 171 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 11.4:1 puts it in the smaller third of Illinois schools by student-teacher ratio.
Enrollment of 171 puts it in the smaller third of Illinois schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 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).
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 22.8% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Southwestern Cusd 9 also operates Southwestern High School (370 students) and Brighton North Primary School (293 students) alongside Southwestern Middle 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 Middle School compares
Southwestern Middle 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 | 11.4:1 | ▼ 19% | 14:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 171 | top 86% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
11.4:1
Leaner classes than 80% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
171
Bigger than 17% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
11.4:1
students per teacher
- 19% below state mean
Top 22% in Illinois - lower ratio than 78% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
22.8%
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
11
in-school suspensions + 8 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 6.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 11.1 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
White 94.2%
Hispanic or Latino 2.3%
Two or More 2.3%
African American 0.6%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.6%
Largest group: White at 94.2% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 11.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 11.2, Southwestern Middle School is less mixed than the Illinois school average of 38.9.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Southwestern Cusd 9, which includes Southwestern Middle 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 Middle School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southwestern High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| Brighton North Primary School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Medora Intermediate School | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| Shipman Elem School | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Southwestern Middle School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 370
- Students per teacher
- 11.9:1
- Resource Index
- 32/100
- Enrollment
- 293
- Students per teacher
- 17.2:1
- 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 middle 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 (~171 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Southwestern Middle School's federal record.
- Compare Southwestern Middle 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 Middle School
How many students attend Southwestern Middle School?
Southwestern Middle School has 171 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Piasa, IL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Southwestern Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Southwestern Middle School is 11.4:1, which is 19% lower than the Illinois average of 14:1 and 27% 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 Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Southwestern Middle School is White at 94.2% of enrollment, in Piasa, IL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Southwestern Middle School?
Southwestern Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (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 Southwestern Middle School a good school?
Southwestern Middle School earns 42/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 78% 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 Middle School, Southwestern Cusd 9 also operates Southwestern High School (370 students), Brighton North Primary School (293 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.