The top reported proficiency rate is 66% in Math. The lowest is 48% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on W Arthur Sewel Elementary School
W Arthur Sewel Elementary School is a regular public elementary school serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, part of the Tucson Unified District in a residential neighborhood of Tucson. The school sits within a major desert city that combines a historic downtown, the University of Arizona campus, military installations, and vast suburban spread. The Sun Link streetcar connects the university and downtown, but outside the central core Tucson is largely automobile-dependent, and Sewel Elementary serves a neighborhood that falls within that wider pattern.
The school itself is small for an elementary, with a student body that reflects the city’s demographics. Hispanic or Latino students make up a majority, followed by White students, with smaller shares identifying as two or more races, Black, Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. Data on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch was not available. The enrollment numbers for students with disabilities and English learners were also absent from the record, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those supports.
On the Arizona state assessments for the most recent school year, Sewel Elementary showed a pattern that a parent would want to weigh by grade and subject. In third-grade math, a strong majority of students scored proficient, and in third-grade reading the share was well above half. By fifth grade, math proficiency landed at about half of students, while reading proficiency slipped somewhat below that. Science proficiency for fifth graders was also around half. Fourth-grade math results were suppressed due to a small testing group, so no public figure is available for that grade in that subject. The school’s overall proficiency index across tested subjects and grades sits in the top quarter when compared with other schools in Pima County, a solid relative position. The single year of available trend data does not allow for a clear direction to be identified.
The school serves only elementary grades, so there is no graduation rate to report, nor are there high school course access metrics or college readiness indicators. The Tucson Unified District, which runs Sewel Elementary, has been operating under a federal desegregation order that shapes school assignments, magnet programs, and transportation. Families considering this school should understand that their assignment options and busing are influenced by that plan. The district has also seen a notable enrollment decline over the past decade or so, prompting discussions about school utilization and potential closures, though no specific plans affecting Sewel Elementary have been reported publicly.
Housing in the zip code surrounding the school shows home values that are lower than the statewide benchmark, and rents are a modest share of national median income. The area is affordable relative to much of Arizona, but recent home prices have edged downward year over year, while rents have risen slightly. The school building is in a mid-century residential section of Tucson, not in the downtown or university core, so daily life outside school hours is car-oriented.
Program offerings, staffing ratios, discipline data, and attendance figures were not available in the record, leaving gaps in what a parent can assess about the school’s climate and resources. What the data does show is a small elementary school serving a diverse student body, with third-grade performance as a relative strength, a middle-of-the-pack to slightly above profile in most other grades, and a position among the higher-performing schools in the county when averaged across all tested subjects. Families who want the full picture may need to visit, speak with the principal, and check on the specific supports for English learners and students with disabilities that were not captured here.
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