The top reported proficiency rate is 53% in Math. The lowest is 31% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Southwind Elementary
Southwind Elementary, a regular public school serving prekindergarten through fifth grade, sits in the Memphis-Shelby County Schools system. It is a straightforward neighborhood elementary school with a large enrollment for its grade band, and its student body is predominantly Black, followed by a smaller share of Hispanic students and a still smaller share of Asian and white students combined. The school is located in the Southeast Memphis area, within the 38125 zip code.
The housing market in this zip code shows home values that are below the state benchmark and below the national benchmark, and the typical asking rent there is also below the national average for rent. For a family looking at this area, the cost of owning a home is less than the national median, and renting consumes a typical share of area income. The immediate neighborhood is a largely suburban stretch of Memphis, with access to the city's broader amenities: downtown riverfront parks like Tom Lee Park, the vast Shelby Farms Park in East Memphis, and cultural institutions such as the National Civil Rights Museum and Graceland are all part of the city context. The school itself is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet.
On state testing, Southwind Elementary shows a mixed picture. In math, just over half of students in grades three through five scored at a proficient level or above. In English language arts, the share is roughly the same, just over half of students. Science proficiency was lower, with less than half of students meeting the bar. For social studies, the most recent figure available is from an older test administration, and the assessment has since changed, so that older result is less directly comparable. Participation on the tests was full, meaning nearly every student was assessed. When placed alongside all other districts in Shelby County, the school's overall proficiency across all tested subjects sits below the midpoint of the county's spread, meaning that families looking at test results will find stronger absolute performance at a number of other schools in the county, though the county includes both high-performing suburban districts and the Memphis district itself.
The district context matters here. Memphis-Shelby County Schools is a large, urban district that has recently undergone public discussions about school closures under a planning framework called Reimagining 901. A parent considering Southwind Elementary may want to inquire with the district or school about any potential facility or boundary changes that could affect the school's long-term stability. The district also put a property tax referendum before voters in recent years, which passed and provided additional funding for the district.
Civil-rights data, such as discipline rates or staffing ratios, was not available for this school. Program offerings beyond the standard elementary curriculum were also not reported in the data reviewed. The enrollment count, while sizable, does not come with a free-or-reduced-price lunch rate, so the economic composition of the student body relative to the neighborhood is not directly visible from the data at hand.
For a family, this is a large elementary school in a stable residential area of Memphis, with home costs that are moderate compared to state and national levels. Academic proficiency is a soft spot relative to the county as a whole, especially in science, and below the county median overall. A parent choosing this school would want to understand what supports are in place for students who are below grade level and what the school's specific academic improvement efforts look like, as the numbers suggest room for growth. The school's size and its location within a large district facing reorganization are both factors that could shape the experience from year to year.
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