Enrollment
492
Virginia · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 510126000476
Franconia Elementary — Alexandria, VA
Federal NCES profile for Franconia Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 51/100.
👥 Class size 38
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 34
📋 Attendance 62
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
Franconia Elementary earns a C- Resource Investment Index (51/100), with class sizes larger than 75% of Virginia schools.
- C-
- Resource Index · 51/100
- 15.4:1
- large classes for Virginia
- 24.6%
- free-lunch eligible
- 492
- 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)
34.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.4:1
vs 14:1 Virginia avg
+10% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
24.6%
vs 59.9% Virginia avg
-59% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Franconia 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
Franconia Elementary reports 492 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 34.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 10% above the Virginia state mean of 14:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.7:1, it is 2% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 24.6% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 59% below the Virginia average and 53% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 328 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 15.4% 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 51/100 (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 Franconia 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 | 15.4:1 | ▲ 10% | 14:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 24.6% | ▼ 59% | 59.9% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 492 | top 40% | — | — |
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)
15 smaller classes than 45% 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')
492 larger than 61% 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
24.6%
free-lunch eligible
— 59% 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
15.4:1
students per teacher
— 10% above state mean
Top 75% in Virginia — lower ratio than 25% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
15.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
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 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.
Overview
Enrollment 492 Top 40% in Virginia — larger than 60% of 1,869 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 34.0
Students per teacher 15.4:1 +10% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 24.6% -59% vs state
NCES ID 510126000476
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.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.5
Students per counselor 328:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 15.4%
In-school suspensions 8
Out-of-school suspensions 4
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.
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.
Before you act on this record
Treat this page as the federal baseline — then verify locally.
- Compare Franconia Elementary side-by-side with another school you're considering on the same NCES measures. Compare schools
- Read the district context — spending per pupil, staffing, and equity ranking are district-level decisions that shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment windows, programs, and boundaries with the school directly — federal data lags the current school year. Choosing guide
Figures are the school's reported federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) — coverage varies by entity type, and PlainSchools does not rate or rank schools.
Frequently asked questions about Franconia Elementary
How many students attend Franconia Elementary?
Franconia Elementary has 492 students enrolled. It is a other school in Alexandria, VA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Franconia Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Franconia Elementary is 15.4:1, which is 10% higher than the Virginia average of 14:1 and 2% 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 59.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Franconia Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Franconia Elementary is White at 40.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in Alexandria, VA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Franconia Elementary?
Franconia Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 51/100 (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 Franconia Elementary a good school?
Franconia Elementary earns a C- Resource Investment Index (51/100), with class sizes larger than 75% of Virginia schools. 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.