Elementary school (grades K-5) · Portsmouth, VA

Douglass Park Elementary

Federal NCES profile for Douglass Park Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 42/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 510300001245
0/100100/10042/100
👥 S:T ratio
49
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
49
📋 Attendance
0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Douglass Park Elementary earns 42/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Virginia median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Virginia schools.

#9 of 13
elementary schools in Portsmouth · Resource Index
42
Resource Index · Typical
12.8:1
students per teacher
98.2%
free-lunch eligible

Douglass Park Elementary has class sizes near the Virginia median. Computed live against every Virginia school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Douglass Park Elementary ranks #9 of 13 elementary schools in Portsmouth, VA.

Enrollment

510

Virginia · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

40.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

12.8:1

vs 13.9:1 Virginia avg

-8% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

98.2%

vs 57.6% Virginia avg

+70% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Douglass Park Elementary compares with Virginia and U.S. medians

At or below state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Douglass Park Elementary

Douglass Park Elementary is a high-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Portsmouth, Virginia, enrolling 510 students.

Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.8:1 puts it in the smaller third of Virginia schools by student-teacher ratio.

Economic need is high: 98.2% of students qualify for free meals, 70% above the Virginia average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.

With 510 students, its enrollment sits close to the Virginia median campus size.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 1,868 scored Virginia schools.

Among 275 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Virginia schools statewide, it ranks #199, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.

Its student body is predominantly African American (86% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 26/100).

Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 255 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 40.6% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Among Portsmouth's elementary schools, it stands alongside Churchland Elementary (721 students): Douglass Park Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (12.8:1 vs 16.8:1).

Portsmouth City Public Schools also operates Churchland High (1,453 students) and Manor High (1,149 students) alongside Douglass Park Elementary.

Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25

How Douglass Park Elementary compares

Douglass Park Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Virginia and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Virginia Virginia avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 12.8:1 ▼ 8% 13.9:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 98.2% ▲ 70% 57.6% 51.7%
Enrollment 510 top 56% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

12.8:1
Leaner classes than 68% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
510
Bigger than 63% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
98.2%
free-lunch eligible - 70% above the Virginia average of 57.6%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
12.8:1
students per teacher - 8% below state mean
Top 33% in Virginia - lower ratio than 67% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
40.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$13,493
per pupil, district-wide - below Virginia avg of $14,649
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 255 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
4
in-school suspensions + 88 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 18.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.

Overview

  • Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
  • Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
  • F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.

Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.

Student demographics

African American 85.5%
Hispanic or Latino 9.0%
Two or More 3.5%
White 1.6%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.4%

Largest group: African American at 85.5% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 25.9/100

Simpson diversity index - at 25.9, Douglass Park Elementary is less mixed than the Virginia school average of 53.7.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Portsmouth City Public Schools, which includes Douglass Park Elementary.

$13,493
Per student
-8%
vs Virginia
Avg $14,649
-19%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 32.7%
State 54.9%
Federal 12.4%

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.

How Douglass Park Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Churchland High Larger No free-lunch data Higher S:T ratio
Manor High Larger Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio
I.C. Norcom High Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Churchland Middle Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Churchland Elementary Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Douglass Park Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Portsmouth City Public Schools · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in Portsmouth

6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.

Similar elementary schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Virginia, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Douglass Park Elementary's federal record.

Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.

Frequently asked questions about Douglass Park Elementary

How many students attend Douglass Park Elementary?

Douglass Park Elementary has 510 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Portsmouth, VA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Douglass Park Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at Douglass Park Elementary is 12.8:1, which is 8% lower than the Virginia average of 13.9:1 and 18% 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 Douglass Park Elementary?

98.2% of students at Douglass Park Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Virginia average of 57.6%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Douglass Park Elementary?

The largest demographic group at Douglass Park Elementary is African American at 85.5% of enrollment, in Portsmouth, VA.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Douglass Park Elementary?

Douglass Park Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Douglass Park Elementary rank among elementary schools in Portsmouth?

By Resource Investment Index, Douglass Park Elementary ranks #9 of 13 elementary schools in Portsmouth, VA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Portsmouth on the city page.

Is Douglass Park Elementary a good school?

Douglass Park Elementary earns 42/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Virginia median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Virginia schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.

What other schools are in Portsmouth City Public Schools?

Besides Douglass Park Elementary, Portsmouth City Public Schools also operates Churchland High (1,453 students), Manor High (1,149 students), and I.C. Norcom High (1,009 students). See the Portsmouth City Public Schools district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.