Enrollment
760
Virginia · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 510313002851
Piney Branch Elementary — Bristow, VA
Federal NCES profile for Piney Branch Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 48/100.
👥 Class size 32
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 24
📋 Attendance 65
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 →
School address
District: Prince William 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)
45.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17:1
vs 14:1 Virginia avg
+21% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
14.1%
vs 59.9% Virginia avg
-76% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Piney Branch 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
Piney Branch Elementary reports 760 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 45.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 17:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 21% 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 15.9:1, it is 7% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 14.1% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 76% below the Virginia average and 73% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 380 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 14.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Prince William County Public Schools spends $15,984 per pupil district-wide, below the Virginia average of $16,211 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 47.2% from local sources (property taxes), 44.1% from the state, and 8.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (D), 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 Piney Branch 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 | 17:1 | ▲ 21% | 14:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 14.1% | ▼ 76% | 59.9% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 760 | top 74% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 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
14.1%
free-lunch eligible
— 76% 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
17:1
students per teacher
— 21% above state mean
Top 92% in Virginia — lower ratio than 8% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
14.2%
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
$15,984
per pupil, district-wide
— below Virginia avg of $16,211
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 380 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 760 Top 74% in Virginia — larger than 26% of 1,869 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 45.0
Students per teacher 17:1 +21% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 14.1% -76% vs state
NCES ID 510313002851
Student demographics
White 47.9%
Asian 19.6%
Hispanic or Latino 14.9%
Two or More 9.6%
African American 7.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
Largest group: White at 47.9% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 380:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 14.2%
In-school suspensions 2
Out-of-school suspensions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Prince William County Public Schools, which includes Piney Branch Elementary.
$15,984
Per student
-1%
vs Virginia
Avg $16,211
-18%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 47.2%
State 44.1%
Federal 8.6%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,956
- Students per teacher
- 18.2:1
- Enrollment
- 2,898
- Students per teacher
- 17.5:1
- Enrollment
- 2,661
- Students per teacher
- 17.2:1
- Enrollment
- 2,648
- Students per teacher
- 16:1
- Enrollment
- 2,524
- Students per teacher
- 16.9:1
Similar other schools in Bristow
4 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Chris Yung Elementary
Standard public school
719 students 16.5:1 students per teacher
Victory Elementary
Standard public school
661 students 17.4:1 students per teacher
Bristow Run Elementary
Standard public school
562 students 17.1:1 students per teacher
Cedar Point Elementary
Standard public school
510 students 15.3:1 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.
Frequently asked questions about Piney Branch Elementary
How many students attend Piney Branch Elementary?
Piney Branch Elementary has 760 students enrolled. It is a other school in Bristow, VA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Piney Branch Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Piney Branch Elementary is 17:1, which is 21% higher than the Virginia average of 14:1 and 7% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Piney Branch Elementary?
14.1% of students at Piney Branch Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Virginia average of 59.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Piney Branch Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Piney Branch Elementary is White at 47.9%. The school serves a diverse student body in Bristow, VA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Piney Branch Elementary?
Piney Branch Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (D) 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.