Enrollment
492
Virginia · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Alexandria, VA
Franconia Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Franconia Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 52/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 510126000476
👥 S:T ratio 42
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 34
📋 Attendance 62
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Franconia Elementary earns 52/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Virginia median.
- #19 of 42
- schools in Alexandria · Resource Index
- 52
- Resource Index · Higher
- 14.5:1
- students per teacher
- 24.6%
- free-lunch eligible
Franconia Elementary has class sizes near the Virginia median. Computed live against every Virginia school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Franconia Elementary ranks #19 of 42 schools in Alexandria, VA.
School address
District: Fairfax County Public Schools · Virginia
NCES ID 510126000476 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
34.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.5:1
vs 13.9:1 Virginia avg
+4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
24.6%
vs 57.6% Virginia avg
-57% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Franconia Elementary compares with Virginia and U.S. medians
What stands out at Franconia Elementary
Scale and staffing sit near the state mainstream
Franconia Elementary is neither an extreme outlier in enrollment nor in student-teacher ratio among Virginia schools. Its profile therefore turns on the other dimensions rather than on scale alone: economic need, counselor coverage, program access, attendance, and district finance. This middle placement is useful because it prevents the campus from being mislabeled as unusually large, small, crowded, or teacher-dense when the federal comparison does not support that claim.
Need and resources require a component-level read
Franconia Elementary falls within the wide middle of the Virginia distribution on both free-meal eligibility and the Resource Investment Index. Neither measure supplies an honest headline by itself. The useful distinctions are in the components: classroom staffing, counselor availability, attendance, gifted-program access, and district spending. Those fields can pull in opposite directions even when the overall percentile looks ordinary.
A combined-grade campus has a different support burden
Franconia Elementary serves a combined grade span rather than a conventional elementary, middle, or high-school band. That structure can require the same campus to cover transitions, counseling needs, and programs for students at substantially different developmental stages, so a single staffing ratio deserves more caution than it would at a narrower-grade school. Federal totals show the available people and programs, but not how those resources are divided among grade levels.
Franconia Elementary is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Alexandria, Virginia, enrolling 492 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 14.5:1 puts it in the larger third of Virginia schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 24.6% of students eligible for free meals.
With 492 students, its enrollment sits close to the Virginia median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,868 scored Virginia schools.
Against 262 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #149.
Its student body is led by White (41%) and Hispanic or Latino (22%) (diversity index 74/100).
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 328 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
15.4% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
The surrounding Fairfax County Public Schools spends $17,977 per pupil, 23% above the Virginia average, a better-resourced district than most.
Among Alexandria's public schools, it stands alongside Hayfield Secondary (3,256 students): Franconia Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (14.5:1 vs 17.3:1).
Fairfax County Public Schools also operates Lake Braddock Secondary (4,411 students) and Robinson Secondary (3,710 students) alongside Franconia 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 Franconia Elementary compares
Franconia 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 | 14.5:1 | ▲ 4% | 13.9:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 24.6% | ▼ 57% | 57.6% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 492 | top 60% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
14.5:1
Leaner classes than 52% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
492
Bigger than 61% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
24.6%
free-lunch eligible
- 57% below the Virginia average of 57.6%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
14.5:1
students per teacher
- 4% above state mean
Top 61% in Virginia - lower ratio than 39% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
15.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$17,977
per pupil, district-wide
- above Virginia avg of $14,649
Somewhat above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.5 FTE
Per 328 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
8
in-school suspensions + 4 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Student demographics
White 40.7%
Hispanic or Latino 21.7%
African American 17.7%
Asian 12.6%
Two or More 6.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Largest group: White at 40.7% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 73.5/100
Simpson diversity index - at 73.5, Franconia Elementary is more mixed than the Virginia school average of 53.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Fairfax County Public Schools, which includes Franconia 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.
How Franconia Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Braddock Secondary | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Robinson Secondary | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Hayfield Secondary | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Chantilly High | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| West Springfield High | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Franconia Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 4,411
- Students per teacher
- 17:1
- Resource Index
- 57/100
- Enrollment
- 3,710
- Students per teacher
- 17.1:1
- Resource Index
- 54/100
- Enrollment
- 3,256
- Students per teacher
- 17.3:1
- Resource Index
- 53/100
- Enrollment
- 2,937
- Students per teacher
- 16.2:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
- Enrollment
- 2,799
- Students per teacher
- 18.5:1
- Resource Index
- 45/100
Similar other schools in Alexandria
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Hayfield Secondary
Standard public school
3,256 students 17.3:1 students per teacher
Patrick Henry K-8 School
Standard public school
1,075 students 16.8:1 students per teacher
Parklawn Elementary
Standard public school
963 students 16.6:1 students per teacher
Mount Vernon Elementary
Standard public school
933 students 17.6:1 students per teacher
Hybla Valley Elementary
Standard public school
878 students 14.4:1 students per teacher
James K. Polk Elementary
Standard public school
804 students 15.2:1 students per teacher
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 (~492 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~14.5:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Franconia Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Franconia Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Fairfax 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 Franconia Elementary
How many students attend Franconia Elementary?
Franconia Elementary has 492 students enrolled. It is a public school in Alexandria, VA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Franconia Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Franconia Elementary is 14.5:1, which is 4% higher than the Virginia average of 13.9:1 and 8% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Franconia Elementary?
24.6% of students at Franconia Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Virginia average of 57.6%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Franconia Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Franconia Elementary is White at 40.7% of enrollment, in Alexandria, VA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 73.5/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Franconia Elementary?
Franconia Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 52/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, gifted-program reporting, counselor availability, chronic absenteeism. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Franconia Elementary rank among schools in Alexandria?
By Resource Investment Index, Franconia Elementary ranks #19 of 42 schools in Alexandria, VA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Alexandria on the city page.
What other schools are in Fairfax County Public Schools?
Besides Franconia Elementary, Fairfax County Public Schools also operates Lake Braddock Secondary (4,411 students), Robinson Secondary (3,710 students), and Hayfield Secondary (3,256 students). See the Fairfax 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.