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Southside Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-5

648^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 686 Alabama Elementary Schools

Better than 6% of Alabama elementary schools

Summary

Southside Primary School is a small early-elementary school in Selma, AL, serving 147 students in Kindergarten through 2nd grade within the Dallas County school district, where nearly 88% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

The most remarkable story at Southside is the dramatic turnaround in chronic absenteeism. Over the past four years, the rate has plummeted from a peak of 40.9% in 2022-2023 to just 4.0% in 2024-2025. That's not only a massive improvement for the school itself, but it's also far better than the district average of 17.2% and the state average of 12.0%. In fact, it's the lowest rate among all nearby schools, most of which sit in the 7-22% range. This suggests a profound shift in school culture and family engagement. The school also maintains a favorable student-teacher ratio of 18.3, which is better than several nearby schools like Valley Grande Elementary (20.7) and Brantley Elementary (20.4).

Because Southside only serves grades K-2, the test scores you see for 3rd-5th grade actually belong to its former students who have moved on to other schools, most likely Bruce K Craig Elementary, located just 0.29 miles away. Those results reveal a consistent pattern: students perform much better in English than in math. For example, 3rd graders show 42% proficiency in English versus just 14% in math—a gap of nearly 30 points that persists across all grade levels. While overall scores are low, there is a relative bright spot in 3rd-grade English, which is the highest among nearby schools. However, the path forward matters greatly: students who attend Valley Grande Elementary (9 miles away) see far better outcomes than those at Bruce K Craig, highlighting how the next school a child attends can significantly shape their academic trajectory.

147

Students ?

18.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

$11,494

Per pupil spending ?

87.8%

Free/discounted lunch ?

3104 Old Montgomery Hwy
Selma, AL 36701-8100

(334) 874-9566

District: Dallas County

Students who attend Southside Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Tipton Durant Middle School
High:	Southside High School

Racial breakdown:

African American:

93.2%

Two or more races:

4.1%

White:

1.4%

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At a glance

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Alabama average (24% vs 53% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (6th percentile)

!Science scores 31 pts below the Alabama average

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school24%

District avg29%

Alabama avg53%

648^th of 686

Alabama public elementary schools ?

Bottom 6%

See the entire ranking list of Alabama Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

4^th of 4Elementary Schools in the Dallas County

128^th of 139Dallas County among Alabama districts

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

African American (2026)15th percentile+10 vs school

Male (2026)7th percentile~ school

Female (2026)6th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)4th percentile~ school

By subject vs Alabama (2025-2026) ?

English38%-26 vs state

Science20%-31 vs state

Mathematics12%-30 vs state

★

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Schools Near Southside Elementary School

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				Summative Assessment Mathematics (2026)				Summative Assessment Science (2026)	Summative Assessment English (2026)				Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	Summative Assessment Mathematics 3rd Grade	Summative Assessment Mathematics 4th Grade	Summative Assessment Mathematics 5th Grade	Summative Assessment Mathematics 6th Grade	Summative Assessment Science 4th Grade	Summative Assessment English 3rd Grade	Summative Assessment English 4th Grade	Summative Assessment English 5th Grade	Summative Assessment English 6th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Southside Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	3104 Old Montgomery Hwy	Selma	36701	Dallas County	Dallas County	No	No	No	Yes	(334) 874-9566	147	8	18.3	87.8%	2 (1.4%)	137 (93.2%)	2 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (4.1%)	9.3	648^th of 686 public elementary schools	5.5%					(n/a)	14.0	10.9	11.4		19.6	42.0	32.6	40.0		$11,494	$2,250	$9,221
Sophia P Kingston Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	2224 Selma Ave	Selma	36703	Dallas County	Selma City	No	No	No	Yes	(334) 874-1635	305	13	23.4	76.7%	2 (0.7%)	292 (95.7%)	2 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (3.0%)	15.4	590^th of 686 public elementary schools	14.0%		13.5	603^rd of 680 public elementary schools	11.3%	13	8.5	24.4	0.0	25.0	19.5	36.2	26.8	55.2	41.7	$13,079	$3,106	$9,965
Clark Elementary School	Public	K-6	405 Lawrence St	Selma	36703	Dallas County	Selma City	No	No	No	Yes	(334) 874-1630	113	8	14.1	97.3%	4 (3.5%)	105 (92.9%)	2 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.8%)	5	680^th of 686 public elementary schools	0.9%		22.7	524^th of 680 public elementary schools	22.9%	156	5.6	11.1	0.0	4.2	11.1	11.1	22.2	16.7	33.3	$10,376	$2,448	$7,920
Payne Elementary School	Public	K-6	1529 N Franklin St	Selma	36701	Dallas County	Selma City	No	No	No	Yes	(334) 874-1660	164	10	16.4	96.3%	0 (0.0%)	163 (99.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.6%)	17.2	578^th of 686 public elementary schools	15.7%		17.5	563^rd of 680 public elementary schools	17.2%	15	50.0	13.0	33.3	7.7	8.7	38.9	29.2	33.3	23.1	$10,444	$2,016	$8,420
Brantley Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	5585 Water Ave	Selma	36703	Dallas County	Dallas County	No	No	No	Yes	(334) 874-8185	204	10	20.4	86.8%	27 (13.2%)	155 (76.0%)	5 (2.5%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (7.8%)	10.8	637^th of 686 public elementary schools	7.1%		10.6	632^nd of 680 public elementary schools	7.1%	5	16.1	15.4	12.9		30.8	29.0	38.5	25.8		$10,642	$2,130	$8,491
Edgewood Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	709 Highland Ave	Selma	36701	Dallas County	Selma City	No	No	No	Yes	(334) 874-1640	402	22	18.3	88.6%	3 (0.7%)	385 (95.8%)	3 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (2.7%)	7.4	668^th of 686 public elementary schools	2.6%		10	638^th of 680 public elementary schools	6.2%	30	9.5	8.9	9.5	10.5	15.6	35.9	26.7	28.6	31.0	$9,321	$1,918	$7,396
Meadowview Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	1816 Orrville Rd	Selma	36701	Dallas County	Selma City	No	No	No	Yes	(334) 874-1655	334	17	19.7	76.3%	17 (5.1%)	300 (89.8%)	4 (1.2%)	5 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (2.4%)	33.3	472^nd of 686 public elementary schools	31.2%		28.3	487^th of 680 public elementary schools	28.4%	15	40.9	41.7	10.3	26.5	38.9	53.3	56.8	27.6	49.0	$10,109	$1,741	$8,361
Valley Grande Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	2765 Dallas County Road 81	Valley Grande	36701	Dallas County	Dallas County	No	No	No	Yes	(334) 872-7661	353	17	20.7	77.1%	103 (29.2%)	207 (58.6%)	12 (3.4%)	5 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (7.4%)	27.8	502^nd of 686 public elementary schools	26.8%		28.2	491^st of 680 public elementary schools	27.8%	11	43.1	21.6	9.4		25.5	69.0	43.1	50.9		$8,689	$1,547	$7,121
Salem Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	3486 Dallas Road 3	Orrville	36767	Dallas County	Dallas County	No	No	No	Yes	(334) 996-8636	155	9	17.2	78.1%	2 (1.3%)	147 (94.8%)	4 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.3%)	15.9	586^th of 686 public elementary schools	14.6%		23.5	517^th of 680 public elementary schools	24.0%	69	50.0	9.1	10.5		22.7	38.9	31.8	26.3		$11,997	$2,121	$9,854
JacksonSteele Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	570 Freedom Rd	Hayneville	36040	Lowndes County	Lowndes County	No	No	No	Yes	(334) 872-0758	114	7	16.2	74.6%	5 (4.4%)	107 (93.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.8%)	23.2	530^th of 686 public elementary schools	22.7%		35.4	451^st of 680 public elementary schools	33.7%	79	23.5		11.8			47.1		64.7		$14,946	$3,336	$11,569

Frequently Asked Questions about Southside Elementary School

Is Southside Elementary School a good school?

Southside Elementary School ranks in the bottom 5.5% of Alabama elementary schools.

What is the racial makeup of Southside Elementary School?

Students at Southside Elementary School are 93% African American, 4% Two or more races, 1% White, 1% Hispanic.

What district is Southside Elementary School in?

Dallas County

How many students attend Southside Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 147 students attended Southside Elementary School.

What schools do graduates of Southside Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Southside Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Tipton Durant Middle School
High : Southside High School

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Latest Alabama data All new data »

2025–26 Summative Assessment scoresNewAug 14, 2026

2024–25 attendance data & graduation ratesDec 27, 2025

2024–25 Summative Assessment scoresAug 14, 2025

2021–22 through 2023–24 attendance data & graduation ratesDec 2, 2024

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Alabama State Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.