South Lake Elementary School, near Lakeforest Mall in Gaitherbsurg, is one of five elementaries serving the Watkins Mill school cluster. After fifth grade, most South Lake students move on to Montgomery Village Middle School; the rest attend Neelsville Middle School in Germantown.
Nearly 60 percent of South Lake's teachers have more than five years' experience, while one-third of those teachers have been in the field for more than 15 years.
South Lake is a federal Title I school and is home to MCPS's preschool program and the federal Head Start program, which provides low-income students and their families with health care, nutrition and education services. South Lake places an added emphasis on programs for non-native English speakers.