Enrollment
673
Virginia · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 510126000438
Bush Hill Elementary — Alexandria, VA
Federal NCES profile for Bush Hill Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 52/100.
👥 Class size 45
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 10
📋 Attendance 82
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
The verdict
Bush Hill Elementary earns a C- Resource Investment Index (52/100), with class sizes near the Virginia median.
- C-
- Resource Index · 52/100
- 13.7:1
- students per teacher
- 23.1%
- free-lunch eligible
- 673
- students enrolled
School address
District: Fairfax County Public Schools · Virginia
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
49.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13.7:1
vs 14:1 Virginia avg
-2% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
23.1%
vs 59.9% Virginia avg
-61% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Bush Hill Elementary compares with Virginia and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Bush Hill Elementary reports 673 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 49.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 13.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 2% below the Virginia state mean of 14:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.7:1, it is 13% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 23.1% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 61% below the Virginia average and 55% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 449 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 7.4% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Fairfax County Public Schools spends $17,977 per pupil district-wide, above the Virginia average of $14,649 and above the national average of $16,593. Revenue comes 66.6% from local sources (property taxes), 23.3% from the state, and 10.1% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 52/100 (C-), calculated from 4 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Bush Hill Elementary compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Virginia state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Virginia | Virginia avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 13.7:1 | ▼ 2% | 14:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 23.1% | ▼ 61% | 59.9% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 673 | top 66% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
Class size vs. every US school
Students per teacher (lower means more individual attention)
14 Among the smallest classes smaller classes than 62% of 92,598 US schools
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US schools. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education — NCES Common Core of Data · 2024-25
School size vs. every US school
Total enrollment — where this school sits by size (neither large nor small is 'better')
673 larger than 78% of 95,891 US schools
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US schools. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education — NCES Common Core of Data · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
23.1%
free-lunch eligible
— 61% below the Virginia average of 59.9%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
13.7:1
students per teacher
— 2% below state mean
Top 46% in Virginia — lower ratio than 54% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
7.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$17,977
per pupil, district-wide
— above Virginia avg of $14,649
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.5 FTE
Per 449 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
19
in-school suspensions + 9 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 673 Top 66% in Virginia — larger than 34% of 1,869 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 49.0
Students per teacher 13.7:1 -2% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 23.1% -61% vs state
NCES ID 510126000438
Student demographics
White 42.9%
African American 19.5%
Hispanic or Latino 17.2%
Asian 10.3%
Two or More 10.1%
Largest group: White at 42.9% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.5
Students per counselor 449:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 7.4%
In-school suspensions 19
Out-of-school suspensions 9
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Fairfax County Public Schools, which includes Bush Hill Elementary.
$17,977
Per student
+23%
vs Virginia
Avg $14,649
+8%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 66.6%
State 23.3%
Federal 10.1%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 4,411
- Students per teacher
- 16.8:1
- Enrollment
- 3,710
- Students per teacher
- 16.6:1
- Enrollment
- 3,256
- Students per teacher
- 16.7:1
- Enrollment
- 2,937
- Students per teacher
- 16.2:1
- Enrollment
- 2,799
- Students per teacher
- 17.6:1
Similar other schools in Alexandria
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Hayfield Secondary
Standard public school
3,256 students 16.7:1 students per teacher
Patrick Henry K-8 School
Standard public school
1,075 students 15.3:1 students per teacher
Parklawn Elementary
Standard public school
963 students 15.6:1 students per teacher
Mount Vernon Elementary
Standard public school
933 students 16.6:1 students per teacher
Hybla Valley Elementary
Standard public school
878 students 13.9:1 students per teacher
James K. Polk Elementary
Standard public school
804 students 15.2:1 students per teacher
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Bush Hill Elementary
How many students attend Bush Hill Elementary?
Bush Hill Elementary has 673 students enrolled. It is a other school in Alexandria, VA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Bush Hill Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Bush Hill Elementary is 13.7:1, which is 2% lower than the Virginia average of 14:1 and 13% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Bush Hill Elementary?
23.1% of students at Bush Hill Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Virginia average of 59.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Bush Hill Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Bush Hill Elementary is White at 42.9%. The school serves a diverse student body in Alexandria, VA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Bush Hill Elementary?
Bush Hill Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 52/100 (C-) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.
Is Bush Hill Elementary a good school?
Bush Hill Elementary earns a C- Resource Investment Index (52/100), with class sizes near the Virginia median. The Resource Investment Index reflects staffing, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance reported to NCES, not test scores or academic outcomes, so treat it as a resource snapshot rather than an overall rating.