Grades PK-5Elementary schoolOpen

Southwest Elementary

Durham Public Schools · Durham County

Address
2320 Cook Road, Durham, NC 27713
Open in Maps →
Grades served
PK-5
NCES school ID
370126002218
639
Students
44.7
Teachers (FTE)
14.3:1
Student–teacher ratio
C
Performance grade
68
Performance score
Met
Academic growth
20.5%
Chronically absent
45.9%
Economically disadvantaged

School calendar

Southwest Elementary's own events for the year — school events, holidays, breaks and teacher workdays — with a printable PDF and a calendar file you can subscribe to.

View the calendar →

Location and nearby schools

10 nearest

Loading the map…

Southwest ElementaryElementaryMiddleHighOther
  1. Pearsontown ElementaryElementary · Grades PK-50.9 mi
  2. Murray-Massenburg ElementaryElementary · Grades PK-51.1 mi
  3. North Carolina Cyber AcademyOther · Grades K-12 · North Carolina Cyber Academy · Charter1.7 mi
  4. Durham School of TechnologyHigh · Grades 9-132.0 mi
  5. NC Virtual AcademyOther · Grades K-12 · NC Virtual Academy · Charter2.0 mi
  6. Hillside HighHigh · Grades 9-122.0 mi
  7. C E Jordan HighHigh · Grades 9-122.2 mi
  8. W G Pearson ElementaryElementary · Grades PK-52.2 mi
  9. Lowe's Grove MiddleMiddle · Grades 6-82.5 mi
  10. Fayetteville Street ElementaryElementary · Grades PK-52.7 mi

How Southwest Elementary compares

Its 2024–25 performance score of 68 against comparable schools. Percentile is the share of that group scoring lower.

All North Carolina public schools67th percentile
Higher than 67% · rank 759 of 2,483
North Carolina elementary schools70th percentile
Higher than 70% · rank 394 of 1,419
Durham Public Schools71st percentile
Higher than 71% · rank 15 of 52

Chronic absence is lower here than at 55% of the 2,482 North Carolina schools reporting it.

Performance score since 2014

025507510014151617181922232425

Score up 19 points since 2014 (49 → 68). Met or exceeded expected growth in 9 of 10 years, exceeding it in 4. No grades were issued for 2020 or 2021.

YearScoreGradeGrowthAchievement
202568CMet64.8
202468CExceeded62.3
202362CMet57.1
202260CExceeded52.1
201960CExceeded53.9
201866CMet61.4
201759CMet53
201659CExceeded52
201551DMet44
201449DNot Met46

Rankings and trends are calculated by Back To School NC from NC DPI report card results; NC DPI publishes each school's own figures but not its standing among peers. See Durham Public Schools for district totals.

Student Demographics

Black 31.92%White 31.77%Hispanic 25.98%Two+ Races 8.29%Asian 1.88%Native Am. 0.16%
Black: 31.92% (204) White: 31.77% (203) Hispanic: 25.98% (166) Two+ Races: 8.29% (53) Asian: 1.88% (12) Native Am.: 0.16% (1)
Black31.92%
White31.77%
Hispanic25.98%
Two+ Races8.29%
Asian1.88%
Native Am.0.16%

Gender Distribution

Total Students: 639
51.17%327 Female
48.83%312 Male

Student counts for Southwest Elementary, 2024-2025, from the NCES Common Core of Data. Percentages are of 639 students and may not total 100% because of rounding.

Students

Regular attendance 79.5%Chronically absent 20.5%
Regular attendance: 79.5% (534) Chronically absent: 20.5% (138)
Regular attendance79.5%
Chronically absent20.5%

Student Population

Students Counted: 672
45.9%Economically disadvantaged
9.08%58 English learners

Student indicators for Southwest Elementary, 2024-2025, from the North Carolina School Report Cards. Attendance is out of the 672 students DPI counted. A student is chronically absent after missing 10% or more of the days enrolled; the other measures overlap it and each other.

Teachers

Experienced 83.37%Beginning 16.63%
Experienced: 83.37% (41) Beginning: 16.63% (8)
Experienced83.37%
Beginning16.63%

Licensing & Certification

Total Teachers: 49.2 FTE
98.37%Fully licensed
1.63%Emergency or provisional
6.1%3 teachers certified

Teacher figures for Southwest Elementary, 2024-2025, from the North Carolina School Report Cards. Counts are full-time equivalents, not headcount. Licensing and certification percentages are each out of 49.2 FTE.

NC School Report Card

2024-2025

Student performance by subject

SubjectGrade-level proficientCareer & college ready
Mathematics (grades 3–8)65.3%41.6%
Science (grades 5 & 8)64.1%42.7%
Reading (grades 3–8)60.5%42.6%

Grade-level proficient is levels 3–5; career and college ready is the higher bar of levels 4–5.

Achievement levels

SubjectNot ProficientLevel 3Level 4Level 5
Mathematics (grades 3–8)34.7%23.7%24%17.6%
Reading (grades 3–8)39.5%17.9%26.1%16.4%
Science (grades 5 & 8)35.9%21.4%32%10.7%

Academic growth

MeasureStatusGrowth indexScore
OverallMeets Expected Growth0.681.5

Teachers

Reported as full-time-equivalent staff, so figures carry decimals.

MeasureValue
Total teachers49.19
Experienced teachers41.01 (83%)
Beginning teachers8.18 (17%)
Holding a standard license48.39 (98%)
Emergency or provisional licenses0.8 (2%)
National Board certified3

Students

MeasureValue
Chronically absent (138 of 672)20.5%
Economically disadvantaged45.9%
English learners making progress (of 58)62.1%

School environment

MeasureValue
Devices per student1
Library books per student15.7
Students have device accessYes
Devices may go homeNo
Wireless access points per classroom1

Federal & state designations

DesignationApplies
Low-performing schoolNo
Recurring low-performingNo
CSI — low performingNo
CSI — low graduation rateNo
TSI — at riskNo
TSI — consistently underperformingYes

CSI is Comprehensive Support and Improvement; TSI is Targeted Support and Improvement, both federal ESSA categories.

Official school website →

First page of the Southwest Elementary report card PDF

Download this report card

Southwest Elementary's 2024-2025 report card as an interactive PDF — bookmarked sections, donut and bar charts for performance, attendance and achievement levels, and the NC DPI and NCES sources cited with working links.

Enrollment and staffing come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD), U.S. Department of Education for 2024-2025; performance, attendance and economic-need figures are the state's NC School Report Card for the same year. Contact the school to confirm current details.