Summary:
Zip code 31419 in Savannah, Georgia, is home to just one middle school, Southwest Middle School, which serves grades 6 through 8 and enrolls 528 students within the Savannah-Chatham County school district.
Southwest Middle School faces significant academic challenges, ranking in the bottom 7% of Georgia middle schools with a 0-star rating for the 2025–2026 school year. The school has consistently ranked in the bottom 10% statewide over the past three years. Test scores reveal widespread struggles: only 3.4% of 8th graders are proficient in science, and math proficiency rates range from 12.8% to 15.7% across grades, all far below district and state averages. Chronic absenteeism is a major concern, with 28.2% of students missing significant school time—nearly double the district rate of 16.6% and well above the state average of 17.7%. The school serves a predominantly low-income population, with 80.87% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch.
Despite these challenges, there are notable bright spots. The most striking is the Algebra I End of Course exam, where 90.5% of students scored proficient—nearly double the state average of 48.1% and nearly triple the district average of 32.8%. This likely reflects a select group of advanced 8th graders, but it demonstrates that students can achieve at exceptionally high levels when placed in accelerated coursework. The school also showed encouraging year-over-year gains in 8th-grade math, improving from 6.8% to 14.5% proficiency. With a favorable 12.3:1 student-teacher ratio and per-student spending of $18,956—substantially higher than typical Georgia schools—the resources are in place. The key will be aligning those resources with targeted interventions in science, math, and attendance to drive meaningful improvement.
Thank you for your feedback!