Enrollment
237
Virginia · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Dryden, VA
Dryden Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Dryden Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 50/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 510219000890
👥 S:T ratio 50
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 53
📋 Attendance 28
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Dryden Elementary earns 50/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 72% of Virginia schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Virginia schools.
- 50
- Resource Index · Higher
- 12.5:1
- small classes for Virginia
- 86.8%
- free-lunch eligible
- 237
- students enrolled
Dryden Elementary has class sizes smaller than 72% of Virginia schools. Computed live against every Virginia school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Lee County Public Schools · Virginia
NCES ID 510219000890 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
19.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.5:1
vs 13.9:1 Virginia avg
-10% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
86.8%
vs 57.6% Virginia avg
+51% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Dryden Elementary compares with Virginia and U.S. medians
What stands out at Dryden Elementary
Dryden Elementary is a high-poverty, small combined-grade school in Dryden, Virginia, enrolling 237 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.5:1 puts it in the smaller third of Virginia schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 86.8% of students eligible for free meals.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 91% of Virginia schools, with 237 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,868 scored Virginia schools.
Against 185 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #116.
Its student body is predominantly White (98% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 4/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 237 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 28.7% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 27.8% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Lee County Public Schools also operates Lee High (803 students) and Flatwoods Elementary (336 students) alongside Dryden 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 Dryden Elementary compares
Dryden 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 | 12.5:1 | ▼ 10% | 13.9:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 86.8% | ▲ 51% | 57.6% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 237 | top 91% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.5:1
Leaner classes than 71% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
237
Bigger than 24% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
86.8%
free-lunch eligible
- 51% above the Virginia average of 57.6%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
12.5:1
students per teacher
- 10% below state mean
Top 28% in Virginia - lower ratio than 72% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
28.7%
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
$14,995
per pupil, district-wide
- above Virginia avg of $14,649
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 237 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 12 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 5.9 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
White 97.9%
Hispanic or Latino 1.3%
Two or More 0.8%
Largest group: White at 97.9% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 4.1/100
Simpson diversity index - at 4.1, Dryden Elementary is less mixed than the Virginia school average of 53.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Lee County Public Schools, which includes Dryden Elementary.
$14,995
Per student
+2%
vs Virginia
Avg $14,649
-10%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 12.6%
State 59.6%
Federal 27.8%
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 Dryden Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lee High | Larger | Higher economic need | No ratio data |
| Flatwoods Elementary | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Elk Knob Elementary | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Thomas Walker High | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| Pennington Middle | Similar size | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Dryden Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 803
- Students per teacher
- -
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 336
- Students per teacher
- 14:1
- Resource Index
- 49/100
- Enrollment
- 291
- Students per teacher
- 13.2:1
- Resource Index
- 49/100
- Enrollment
- 291
- Students per teacher
- 12.7:1
- Resource Index
- 54/100
- Enrollment
- 278
- Students per teacher
- 9.9:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
Similar other 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.
Similar enrollment (~237 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Dryden Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Dryden Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Lee County Public Schools's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
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 Dryden Elementary
How many students attend Dryden Elementary?
Dryden Elementary has 237 students enrolled. It is a public school in Dryden, VA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Dryden Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Dryden Elementary is 12.5:1, which is 10% lower than the Virginia average of 13.9:1 and 20% 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 Dryden Elementary?
86.8% of students at Dryden Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Virginia average of 57.6%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Dryden Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Dryden Elementary is White at 97.9% of enrollment, in Dryden, VA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Dryden Elementary?
Dryden Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 50/100 (higher 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).
Is Dryden Elementary a good school?
Dryden Elementary earns 50/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 72% of Virginia schools. 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 Lee County Public Schools?
Besides Dryden Elementary, Lee County Public Schools also operates Lee High (803 students), Flatwoods Elementary (336 students), and Elk Knob Elementary (291 students). See the Lee County Public Schools district page for the complete list.
Related tools
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.