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Southern Elementary School

Q: Is Southern Elementary School a good school?

Southern Elementary School ranks in the bottom 15.0% of Delaware elementary schools.

Q: How many students attend Southern Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 729 students attended Southern Elementary School.

Q: What is the racial makeup of Southern Elementary School?

Students at Southern Elementary School are 50% African American, 34% White, 9% Hispanic, 4% Two or more races, 2% Asian.

Q: What schools do graduates of Southern Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Southern Elementary School usually go on to attend: Middle : Bedford (Gunning) Middle School High : Penn (William) High School

Public Grades K-5

91^st

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 107 Delaware Elementary Schools

Better than 15% of Delaware elementary schools

Summary

Southern Elementary School in New Castle, DE, is a K-5 school within the Colonial School District serving 729 students. The school has faced significant academic challenges, ranking in the bottom 15% of elementary schools statewide for several years, with performance well below both state and district averages across most subjects and grade levels.

When comparing Southern to nearby schools, the academic gaps are striking. In 5th-grade math, only 21.1% of Southern students are proficient, while nearby Cedar Lane Elementary School (59.85%) and Loss (Olive B.) Elementary School (56.36%) achieve nearly triple that rate. The science scores tell an even more dramatic story—Southern's 5th-grade proficiency is just 11.93%, compared to 60% at Crystal Run Elementary School and 54.55% at Loss. These neighboring schools belong to the Appoquinimink School District, which consistently ranks among the top-performing districts in the state. Even within its own district, Southern trails Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary, which ranks in the 33rd percentile statewide compared to Southern's 14th percentile.

There are some encouraging signs worth noting. Chronic absenteeism has plummeted from 37.9% in 2021-2022 to just 11.9% in 2024-2025—now better than both the district (24.8%) and state (17.1%) averages. Additionally, 5th-grade Social Studies stands out with a 44.23% proficiency rate, the school's highest in any subject. However, Southern spends more per student ($21,301) than any nearby school—Cedar Lane spends just $12,350—yet still sees consistently low performance across all student groups. This suggests the challenge isn't funding but rather how resources are used to drive instruction. For parents considering this school, it's important to understand that while attendance is improving, academic proficiency remains a critical area needing substantial improvement.

729

Students ?

12.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$36,601

Per pupil spending ?

30.0%

Directly certified for free meals (2024-25) ?

795 Cox Neck Road
New Castle, DE 19720-5704

(302) 832-6300

District: Colonial School District

Students who attend Southern Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Bedford (Gunning) Middle School
High:	Penn (William) High School

Racial breakdown:

African American:

49.7%

White:

34.4%

Hispanic:

9.3%

See top rated Delaware elementary schools

Compare Southern Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 43rd percentile in 2016 → 15th in 2026

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Delaware average (22% vs 42% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (15th percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 28 percentile points since 2016

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school22%

District avg27%

Delaware avg42%

91^st of 107

Delaware public elementary schools ?

Bottom 15%▼ down 28 pts since 2016

From bottom 43% (2016) to bottom 15% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Delaware Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

7^th of 8Elementary Schools in the Colonial School District

25^th of 34Colonial School District among Delaware districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Delaware percentile	Rating
2026	13.1	91 of 107	15.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	13.0	96 of 109	11.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	12.4	95 of 106	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	15.3	87 of 103	15.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	20.7	80 of 104	23.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	28.0	65 of 95	31.6%	★★☆☆☆
2019	16.9	89 of 105	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	16.5	74 of 85	12.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	29.4	66 of 86	23.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	41.5	49 of 86	43.0%	★★☆☆☆
2015	49.6	52 of 108	51.9%	★★★☆☆
2013	56.0	47 of 91	48.4%	★★☆☆☆
2012	54.5	45 of 90	50.0%	★★★☆☆
2011	49.2	51 of 91	44.0%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Delaware percentile	Rating
2026	11.2	65 of 70	7.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	11.6	65 of 68	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	10.9	59 of 62	4.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	17.3	56 of 60	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	35.1	42 of 60	30.0%	★★☆☆☆
2021	47.6	10 of 22	54.5%	★★★☆☆
2019	26.5	59 of 72	18.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Delaware percentile	Rating
2026	9.6	93 of 98	5.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	10.3	94 of 97	3.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	9.5	91 of 97	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	13.0	81 of 89	9.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	19.5	78 of 90	13.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	34.5	45 of 67	32.8%	★★☆☆☆
2019	17.1	85 of 99	14.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Delaware percentile	Rating
2026	15.5	70 of 75	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	14.2	68 of 70	2.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	8.8	65 of 66	1.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	11.2	62 of 66	6.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	28.2	49 of 62	21.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	16.6	80 of 92	13.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Delaware percentile	Rating
2026	8.5	95 of 98	3.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	7.2	96 of 97	1.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	6.7	93 of 97	4.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	7.4	88 of 89	1.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	13.3	83 of 90	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	20.8	57 of 67	14.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	12.9	86 of 99	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Delaware percentile	Rating
2019	8.6	9 of 9	0.0%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Delaware percentile	Rating
2026	9.6	74 of 78	5.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	9.4	75 of 77	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	4.9	73 of 73	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	8.4	67 of 70	4.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	6.8	74 of 75	1.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	21.1	57 of 65	12.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	4.9	79 of 82	3.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)7th percentile-8 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)7th percentile-8 vs school

White (2026)5th percentile-10 vs school

Female (2026)5th percentile-10 vs school

Male (2026)3rd percentile-12 vs school

Special Education (2019)<1st percentile-15 vs school

By subject vs Delaware (2025-2026) ?

Social Studies29%-21 vs state

Mathematics22%-17 vs state

English Language Arts19%-23 vs state

Science12%-18 vs state

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Schools Near Southern 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)				DeSSA Science (2026)	DeSSA Social Studies (2026)		Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts (2026)			Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2026)			Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
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	Directly certified (2024-25)	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	DeSSA Science 5th Grade	DeSSA Social Studies 4th Grade	DeSSA Social Studies 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 5th Grade	Total
Southern Elementary School	Public	K-5	795 Cox Neck Road	New Castle	19720	New Castle County	Colonial School District	No	No	No	Yes	(302) 832-6300	729	57	12.7	30.0%	251 (34.4%)	362 (49.7%)	68 (9.3%)	16 (2.2%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.3%)	29 (4.0%)	13.1	91^st of 107 public elementary schools	15.0%		13	96^th of 109 public elementary schools	11.9%	5	11.9	16.7	44.2	23.8	18.2	16.7	25.7	20.5	21.1	$36,601
Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary	Public	K-5	4050 Wrangle Hill Road	Bear	19701	New Castle County	Colonial School District	No	No	No	Yes	(302) 832-6330	1,052	66	15.9	28.8%	263 (25.0%)	505 (48.0%)	171 (16.3%)	39 (3.7%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	73 (6.9%)	33.4	71^st of 107 public elementary schools	33.6%		30.7	73^rd of 109 public elementary schools	33.0%	2	24.9	31.2	66.1	29.7	30.7	35.4	33.1	30.3	26.0	$19,634
Lorewood Grove Elementary School	Public	1-5	820 Mapleton Ave.	Middletown	19709	New Castle County	Appoquinimink School District	No	No	No	No	(302) 842-2575	492	32	15.3	6.5%	208 (42.3%)	123 (25.0%)	31 (6.3%)	102 (20.7%)	2 (0.4%)	2 (0.4%)	24 (4.9%)	75.4	30^th of 107 public elementary schools	72.0%		76.9	27^th of 109 public elementary schools	75.2%	3	42.9	50.4	76.8	46.8	51.5	54.5	55.6	56.8	44.6	$22,241
Leasure (May B.) Elementary School	Public	K-5	1015 Church Road	Newark	19702	New Castle County	Christina School District	No	No	No	Yes	(302) 454-2103	316	30	10.5	38.3%	29 (9.2%)	207 (65.5%)	54 (17.1%)	9 (2.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (5.4%)	38.1	65^th of 107 public elementary schools	39.3%		33	69^th of 109 public elementary schools	36.7%	4	15.5	40.5	57.9	53.7	38.3	29.3	46.5	37.5	13.8	$31,421
Oberle (William) Elementary School	Public	K-5	500 South Caledonia Way	Bear	19701	New Castle County	Christina School District	No	No	No	Yes	(302) 834-5910	512	40	12.8	30.9%	59 (11.5%)	155 (30.3%)	279 (54.5%)	3 (0.6%)	3 (0.6%)	1 (0.2%)	12 (2.3%)	12.8	92^nd of 107 public elementary schools	14.0%		19.7	89^th of 109 public elementary schools	18.3%	3	17.1	18.3	35.5	16.7	23.9	31.6	11.1	19.4	21.1	$26,351
Cedar Lane Early Childhood Center	Public	K	1221 Cedar Lane Road	Middletown	19709	New Castle County	Appoquinimink School District	No	No	No	No	(302) 449-5873	265	15	17.6	6.4%	113 (42.6%)	40 (15.1%)	13 (4.9%)	73 (27.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (9.8%)								(n/a)										$18,014
Cedar Lane Elementary School	Public	1-5	1259 Cedar Lane Road	Middletown	19709	New Castle County	Appoquinimink School District	No	No	No	No	(302) 378-5045	634	40	15.8	3.9%	239 (37.7%)	99 (15.6%)	34 (5.4%)	214 (33.8%)	8 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	40 (6.3%)	93.5	3^rd of 107 public elementary schools	97.2%		92.8	3^rd of 109 public elementary schools	97.2%		54.6	83.1	79.4	62.7	75.6	63.6	71.8	79.7	59.9	$20,019
Crystal Run Elementary School	Public	1-5	1470 Aviator Wy	Middletown	19709	New Castle County	Appoquinimink School District	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(302) 376-4128	427	29	14.7	6.3%	232 (54.3%)	76 (17.8%)	30 (7.0%)	69 (16.2%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (4.2%)	91.2	7^th of 107 public elementary schools	93.5%					(n/a)	60.0	61.1		55.4	63.3	78.6	60.2	69.4	62.9	$19,859
Keene (William B.) Elementary School	Public	K-5	200 Cpl Stephen J. Ballard Way	Newark	19702	New Castle County	Christina School District	No	No	No	Yes	(302) 595-3599	408	31	13.1	36.5%	69 (16.9%)	210 (51.5%)	81 (19.9%)	15 (3.7%)	4 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (7.1%)	70.2	33^rd of 107 public elementary schools	69.2%		58.5	38^th of 109 public elementary schools	65.1%	5	46.7	46.9	74.7	52.0	50.0	58.7	50.7	45.6	32.0	$27,444
Loss (Olive B.) Elementary School	Public	1-5	200 Brennan Boulevard	Bear	19701	New Castle County	Appoquinimink School District	No	No	No	No	(302) 832-1343	499	37	13.6	8.4%	175 (35.1%)	100 (20.0%)	38 (7.6%)	145 (29.1%)	4 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	37 (7.4%)	91.5	6^th of 107 public elementary schools	94.4%		91	7^th of 109 public elementary schools	93.6%	1	54.6	68.7	89.0	62.4	63.7	70.0	61.8	61.8	56.4	$18,162

Frequently Asked Questions about Southern Elementary School

Is Southern Elementary School a good school?

Southern Elementary School ranks in the bottom 15.0% of Delaware elementary schools.

What schools do graduates of Southern Elementary School attend?

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

Middle : Bedford (Gunning) Middle School
High : Penn (William) High School

How many students attend Southern Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 729 students attended Southern Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of Southern Elementary School?

Students at Southern Elementary School are 50% African American, 34% White, 9% Hispanic, 4% Two or more races, 2% Asian.

What district is Southern Elementary School in?

Colonial School District

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Latest Delaware data All new data »

2023–24 dropout ratesNewNov 2, 2026

2023–24 through 2024–25 graduation ratesSep 29, 2026

2025–26 DeSSA, SAT & Smarter Balanced Assessments scoresAug 18, 2026

2024–25 school spending dataMar 23, 2026

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