Westside Elementary School

2470 James Road

School District

Lowndes County
Grade

PK, K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:15
Type

public

School Map for Lowndes County School District

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 December 15, 2021

Teachers who care! I sent all four of my children through this system an in my opinion this is the best school system in all of south Georgia and North Florida. If I had it to do over again I wouldn't change a thing.
Submitted by parent on July 11, 2018

My son went to Westside Elementary from kindergarten to second grade, during which time the school had a 10/10 rating on Great Schools. We relocated to Gwinnett County the summer right before his third grade year. I am not surprised to come back and see that the rating has dropped (particularly in the areas of equity) after the experience that I had with WES. My son did well in kindergarten but began to have performance issues in first grade. Although he was diagnosed with ADHD the following year while in second grade, I believe his teacher was very selective in the accommodations she provided for him inside her classroom until I met with her and the principals to set up a 504 plan. Up until that point, it seemed like she was fine with him as long as she could tell he was on his medication. Every off day seemed severely exaggerated - almost like she did not want him to succeed if I challenged her complaints and trust me, I received A LOT of complaints. Let me be clear when I say that I'm extremely supportive of teachers and respect them because I work in education. However, I was highly discouraged by the treatment my son received during his last year at WES and feel like unconscious bias was a huge factor in this treatment (he's black also). This is no reflection on the teachers who were great to him while he was there, including teachers from prior years and his IEP teachers. However, if we had stayed in Valdosta, I probably would have taken him out and put him in Highland or Open Bible moving forward. I'm happy to report that my son now attends a great school in Gwinnett County with a 9/10 rating and the same academic rigor, and is consistently on honor roll despite his diagnosis. Parent-teacher cooperation and teachers who care actually work! I pray that some things do change within WES because their are many great things about that place. Bias has no place in the classroom.