Southwest Middle, 13624 Steele Creek Road: CMS, grades 6-8, 1,209 students in 2024-25 and a D (51) in the 2025-26 state grades.
Last checked Oct. 11, 2026. Sources: the school’s website, its principal page, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ 2026-27 bell schedule, 2026-27 calendar (PDF), Student Placement and School Choice pages, CMS’s current school assignment data for Mecklenburg County parcels, the N.C. Department of Public Instruction’s 2025-26 accountability data and 2024-25 report card data, and the federal NCES school directory.
Southwest Middle School is a middle school in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS), the countywide district, at 13624 Steele Creek Road. It serves grades 6 to 8.
Who to call
- Front office: 980-343-5006, 13624 Steele Creek Road
- School website: southwestms.cmsk12.org
- Enrolling, transfers and school assignment: CMS Student Placement, 980-343-5335; Student Placement page
- Which school is my address zoned for? The county’s GeoPortal school lookup
- Buses: CMS Transportation call center, 980-343-6715, weekdays 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
| Address | 13624 Steele Creek Road, Charlotte, NC 28273 |
| Phone | 980-343-5006 |
| Grades | 6 to 8 |
| District | Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools |
| CMS transportation zone | Blue |
| State school code | 600538 |
Principal
Principal Walter Clyburn, according to the school’s principal page.
Enrollment and teachers
- State count: an average daily membership of 1,209 students in the 2024-25 school year, according to the state’s report card data.
- Federal count: 1,287 students in the 2023-24 school year, with 62 full-time-equivalent teachers, according to the NCES directory. That is about 21 students per teacher.
State report card
North Carolina grades every public school A to F. The score is based 80% on student achievement and 20% on academic growth, the state’s 2025-26 annual testing report says.
| School year | Grade and score | Growth |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | D (51) | Met |
| 2024-25 | D (48) | Met |
The 2025-26 grades come from the state’s accountability data, released in September. From the same data:
- At grade level or above, all state tests: 46.7% (CMS: 60.9%; state: 59.2%)
- College and career ready (Level 4 and above): 28.3%
- Growth: met expected growth
The full report card, with attendance, teacher and course data, is on the state’s NC School Report Cards site. On Oct. 11 it still showed the 2024-25 edition.
Attendance zone and feeder schools
CMS assigns students to schools by home address, and zones do not follow city limits. Check an address with the county’s GeoPortal school lookup or the CMS 2026-27 feeder boundaries map.
In CMS’s current assignment data, which lists the zoned schools for every home parcel in Mecklenburg County:
- Elementary zones that feed it: Palisades Park Elementary, River Gate Elementary, Winget Park Elementary and Nations Ford Elementary; part of Lake Wylie Elementary and South Pine Academy zones.
- High school: the zone splits between Palisades High (96% of the zone’s home parcels) and Olympic High (4%).
Boundary review: CMS is redrawing school boundaries after its 2024 comprehensive review. The final boundary plan goes to the Board of Education on Monday, Oct. 26, with a public hearing Tuesday, Nov. 10, and a board vote Tuesday, Dec. 8, according to the district’s review page. New boundaries had not been approved as of Oct. 11.
Calendar and bell times
- School day: 9:15 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. in 2026-27, according to the CMS bell schedule.
- Wednesday, Oct. 14: early release day.
- Nov. 2-3: teacher workdays, no school for students; Wednesday, Nov. 11, is Veterans Day, no school.
- Thanksgiving: teacher workday Wednesday, Nov. 25, and break Nov. 26-27.
- Winter break: Dec. 21 to Jan. 1. The last day of school is Wednesday, June 9, 2027.
The dates come from the CMS 2026-27 traditional calendar (PDF).
More
- The school’s own website and the CMS school directory
- Every public school in Charlotte, with zones and report cards
- Our Charlotte schools guide for the school board, enrollment and the district calendar
- Which schools serve each part of the city: our Charlotte neighborhoods guide
Frequently asked questions
What grades does Southwest Middle serve?
Grades 6 to 8, according to the state’s school data. It is a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools middle school.
What is Southwest Middle’s school grade?
Southwest Middle earned a D, with a score of 51, in North Carolina’s 2025-26 School Performance Grades, after a D (48) in 2024-25. In 2025-26, 46.7% of its state tests were at grade level or above.
Which high school does Southwest Middle feed into?
It depends on the address: the zone splits between Palisades High and Olympic High, according to CMS’s current school assignment data.
What time does Southwest Middle start?
The school day runs 9:15 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. in 2026-27, according to the CMS bell schedule.
Who is the principal of Southwest Middle?
Principal Walter Clyburn, according to the school’s website.
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