Enrollment
224
Virginia · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Unionville, VA
Lightfoot Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Lightfoot Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 44/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 510282001173
👥 S:T ratio 44
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 55
📋 Attendance 5
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Lightfoot Elementary earns 44/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Virginia median.
- 44
- Resource Index · Typical
- 14:1
- students per teacher
- 71.3%
- free-lunch eligible
- 224
- students enrolled
Lightfoot Elementary has class sizes near the Virginia median. Computed live against every Virginia school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Orange County Public Schools · Virginia
NCES ID 510282001173 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
16.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14:1
vs 13.9:1 Virginia avg
+1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
71.3%
vs 57.6% Virginia avg
+24% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Lightfoot Elementary compares with Virginia and U.S. medians
What stands out at Lightfoot Elementary
Lightfoot Elementary is a higher-need, small elementary school in Unionville, Virginia, enrolling 224 students.
At 14:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Virginia median, within a few percentage points of the 13.9:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 71.3% lands close to the Virginia typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 92% of Virginia schools, with 224 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 1,868 scored Virginia schools.
Among 100 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Virginia schools statewide, it ranks #88, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is led by White (66%) and Hispanic or Latino (17%) (diversity index 52/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 224 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 37.9% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 15.6% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Orange County Public Schools also operates Orange County High (1,477 students) and Locust Grove Middle (685 students) alongside Lightfoot 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 Lightfoot Elementary compares
Lightfoot 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 | 14:1 | ▲ 1% | 13.9:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 71.3% | ▲ 24% | 57.6% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 224 | top 92% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
14:1
Leaner classes than 57% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
224
Bigger than 22% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
71.3%
free-lunch eligible
- 24% 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
14:1
students per teacher
- 1% above state mean
Top 53% in Virginia - lower ratio than 47% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
37.9%
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
$12,304
per pupil, district-wide
- below Virginia avg of $14,649
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 224 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 3 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.3 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 66.1%
Hispanic or Latino 17.0%
African American 8.5%
Two or More 7.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.9%
Asian 0.4%
Largest group: White at 66.1% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 52.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 52.2, Lightfoot Elementary is about as mixed as the Virginia school average of 53.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Orange County Public Schools, which includes Lightfoot Elementary.
$12,304
Per student
-16%
vs Virginia
Avg $14,649
-26%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 36.0%
State 48.4%
Federal 15.6%
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 Lightfoot Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange County High | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Locust Grove Middle | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Orange Elementary | Larger | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Locust Grove Elementary | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Locust Grove Primary | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Lightfoot Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,477
- Students per teacher
- 16.4:1
- Resource Index
- 26/100
- Enrollment
- 685
- Students per teacher
- 16.7:1
- Resource Index
- 38/100
- Enrollment
- 621
- Students per teacher
- 15.1:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
- Enrollment
- 519
- Students per teacher
- 17.3:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
- Enrollment
- 500
- Students per teacher
- 17.2:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
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.
Similar enrollment (~224 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~14:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Lightfoot Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Lightfoot Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Orange 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 Lightfoot Elementary
How many students attend Lightfoot Elementary?
Lightfoot Elementary has 224 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Unionville, VA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Lightfoot Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Lightfoot Elementary is 14:1, which is 1% higher than the Virginia average of 13.9:1 and 11% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Lightfoot Elementary?
71.3% of students at Lightfoot Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Virginia average of 57.6%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Lightfoot Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Lightfoot Elementary is White at 66.1% of enrollment, in Unionville, VA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 52.2/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Lightfoot Elementary?
Lightfoot Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (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).
Is Lightfoot Elementary a good school?
Lightfoot Elementary earns 44/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Virginia median. 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 Orange County Public Schools?
Besides Lightfoot Elementary, Orange County Public Schools also operates Orange County High (1,477 students), Locust Grove Middle (685 students), and Orange Elementary (621 students). See the Orange 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.