Southside Elementary School

1901 Webber Street

School District

Sarasota
Grade

PK, K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:14
Type

public

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by parent on April 24, 2024

Love this school, feel so lucky to have our children here. Great teachers who love what they do, amazing parent engagement and PTO support for learning benefits like Spanish, science and the arts. Kind and mindful kids and parents in our experience. The only negative I can see is the amount of sugar/candy given out, but hey, it seems to work if you look at test scores… Blown away by this school.
Submitted by parent on February 19, 2024

We have been lucky to get some great teachers at SS, but they do cater to the money. If you are a big donor, you get the special treatment. You get the best teachers, the leads in the school play, etc. The arts are dwindling at this school, They cut out the drama class and now just have music and dance for their arts. The SSFA has all of these huge $ fundraisers that only the wealthy SS parents can afford to attend. If you are into schmoozing and networking with the wealthy, this school is for you. I give it 4 stars because the teachers are great, but administration is never seen and wealthy parents run the school.
Submitted by parent on May 04, 2022

This school caters to certain individuals. If you are a PTA mom, make a large donation, or are well known in the community, teachers and staff members will cater to your child. Teachers have political agendas and even read inappropriate material to children to push their personal belief’s onto children or at least to expose them to ideas that are not even related to curriculum. Many parents have seen this in the intermediate classes. There are a small number of really good teachers at SES, but the majority hate their job and it shows. The guidance counselors are the worst! Don’t let your child meet with them, they themselves are bullies and have politically charged agendas as well and should not be meeting with young children over personal matters. My child had a wonderful teacher at the beginning of the year (whom we requested)! We were so upset when this teacher quit due to personal family decisions although, I think it was more related to the toxic environment inside the school. After, my child’s teacher left, my child was moved to the worst teacher, who doesn’t care about her job at all. The teacher is grumpy, and seems like she hates kids. This teacher does nothing to help communicate with me. If you care about your child building character, solid academics, and a foundation that actually has substance, find a different school.
Submitted by parent on March 24, 2022

Where do I begin? My child has been going to Southside from kindergarten-2nd grade, and things keep getting worse and worse. First of all, Southside does not teach anything about character building, kindness, or empathy. My child has never brought home any worksheets other than math, spelling, etc. The curriculum is advanced and very fast moving, as all this school cares about is test scores. I feel so out of the loop with what goes on at this school. One reason why I chose this school is because they advertised “all the arts” with dance and drama. The drama class got dropped last year, and the school never sent an email/newsletter letting the parents know. My child’s teacher quit after Christmas break, and the school never informed us of the new teacher/nor was there a “meet the teacher” via zoom or anything. I literally had to google the teacher and find him on Facebook and show my child his social media pics and ask if it was him! The worst part about Southside: The kids-they are savage! Last year when I picked my child up from school she was crying hysterically, begging me not to go home and to go to a hotel. Turns out a little girl said to her “I’m going to turn into an evil animal, come to your home at night and attack you and your Mom while you sleep”. It took hours to calm my child down, I couldn’t go home for hours, had to go to a restaurant…this traumatized my child and she calls this girl her “enemy” now. This year a boy in her class terrorized her talking about killer clowns, and said he’s going to bring an axe to school to chop people that he doesn’t like up. Now, a little girl is twisting her pinky finger repeatedly (this really hurts!)…I reported this via email on Monday evening, it’s now Thursday morning and nothing…no response. Don’t even get me started on the sexual things these small children say! Shocking what my child has come home telling me sexual things they talk about at lunch! I guess the parents let their child on an iPad/YouTube/tik tok all day. This school is all about image/advertisements, they don’t care about children, only money and test scores, and I deeply regret sending my child there.
Submitted by parent on September 26, 2019

Wonderful! So grateful for Southside and it’s community.
Submitted by parent on November 30, 2016

Like other reviews here I believe that the staff is self concerned and students are favoratized by staf if that student is a stepford student with stepford parents. If you dare to question the staff or its"Dragon" your child will feel the fire ! I've witnessed staff extending favorable treatment to the "elite". I've experienced the failures of a staff to know what is going on under their watch. I'm not impressed at all with the tiny minds running that school. Bullies!
Submitted by parent on November 10, 2014

this is a pitiful excuse for a school! I am sad that I sent my daughter there and have to leave her there with such an unwelcoming group of people! I went to this school and remember the old staff being very welcoming and assertive! They are really not a whole lot more then an advertisement agency and I believe they don't really care about my daughters education but more about the $ and social status. It is time for the staff to take an interest in inspiring young minds and being the educators and role models they should be and stop worrying about social status, politics and $$. It is an elementary school time to act like it!!
Submitted by parent on August 09, 2014

My two children were here for 6 yrs. This school is highly over-rated. Parents "request" teachers for their students and it is a complete popularity contest, and not based on academic needs of the children. Families who donate lots of $ are given preference on teacher assignments. The administration will welcome you with open arms as long as you are willing to open your wallet and your child performs like a robotic minion. The 5th grade teachers are cynical and negative - preaching to students about preparing them for "the real world" by penalizing them for minor things such as forgetting to sharpen their pencil. One 4th grade teacher humiliates students by pinning a "No Whining" sign on their shirt and putting a doll on their desk if they act like "babies". More emphasis is put on enforcing rules and order than on providing a positive learning experience. Parents are afraid to make waves with the administration for fear that their child will not be assigned to one of the "popular" teachers. There are some wonderful, caring teachers who work tirelessly to help students in spite of the politics but sadly they are not valued the way they should be.
Submitted by parent on April 22, 2014

Southside is an excellent school. We moved here after being in another Sarasota school previously. My daughter has done 4th and 5th grade here. The arts program is second to none and the wealth of opportunities for student and family involvement are plentiful. The school is well run and it is evident that students are at the center of all decisions.
Submitted by parent on April 16, 2014

Southside is a great school. My three kids are in the lower grades. The more involved the parent then the more engaged the student and responsive the teacher. The parents are supportive, friendly and as involved as they can be with busy lives. I am an involved parent, the teachers care and my kids thrive. What else do you want for first grade?
Submitted by parent on April 04, 2014

Southside rests on its historical reputation. There has been a change in leadership 4 years ago and after having issues with the teacher, nothing has been done to correct it. The school has a very negative vibe, and the women are being allowed to live out their aggressions on moms. Instead of addressing bad grades and finding remedies, they send out emails about less important rules to be followed during teaching time. Shows their goal at heart is NOT advancing kids but just living out their personal issues.
Submitted by parent on December 31, 2013

Objectively speaking there are many stellar qualities about this school, however, there are some huge drawbacks to this school that are not spoken about. First, you cannot get a better arts program without paying tuition at a private institute. They offer dance, drama, yoga, and have a world class garden the kids learn in. BUT the major drawback to this school is the social-class environment. For many "working class" families this school can feel unwelcoming. This school places a lot of focus on donations and contributions and it is felt by many that if you cannot participate in those contributions your child does not receive the "perks" or "highly requested teachers" that those families do. We have found in all our years here (and having lived other places) the social environment is very "cliquey" and our children do pay the price socially for us not being able to pay financially into their silent auctions & pricey masquerades. Overall, the school facilities are world class and teacher quality is superb but I think the social environment can feel discriminatory to many students and families below a 6-figure income.