High school (grades 9-12) · Richmond, VA

Thomas Jefferson High

Federal NCES profile for Thomas Jefferson High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 44/100.

2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 510324002070
0/100100/10044/100
👥 S:T ratio
58
📚 AP courses
10
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
50
📋 Attendance
33
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Thomas Jefferson High earns 44/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 92% of Virginia schools.

#4 of 15
high schools in Richmond · Resource Index
44
Resource Index · Typical
10.4:1
small classes for Virginia
80.4%
free-lunch eligible

Thomas Jefferson High has class sizes smaller than 92% of Virginia schools. Computed live against every Virginia school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Thomas Jefferson High ranks #4 of 15 high schools in Richmond, VA.

Enrollment

749

Virginia · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

72.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

10.4:1

vs 13.9:1 Virginia avg

-25% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

80.4%

vs 57.6% Virginia avg

+40% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Thomas Jefferson High compares with Virginia and U.S. medians

Smaller classes than state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Thomas Jefferson High

Thomas Jefferson High is a high-poverty, mid-sized high school in Richmond, Virginia, enrolling 749 students.

Classes run notably small here: at 10.4:1, Thomas Jefferson High is leaner than roughly 92% of Virginia schools and 25% under the state's 13.9:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.

Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 80.4% of students eligible for free meals.

Enrollment of 749 puts it in the larger third of Virginia schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,868 scored Virginia schools.

Against 345 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #81.

Its student body is led by African American (64%) and White (23%) (diversity index 53/100).

No Advanced Placement courses are reported for this campus in the federal data.

Counselor coverage is strong, about 250 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 27.0% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

The surrounding Richmond City Public Schools spends $21,583 per pupil, 47% above the Virginia average, a better-resourced district than most.

Its district draws 25.7% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Discipline events run high: 256 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 749 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.

Among Richmond's high schools, it stands alongside John Randolph Tucker High (2,132 students): Thomas Jefferson High is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (10.4:1 vs 19.7:1).

Richmond City Public Schools also operates Huguenot High (1,469 students) and River City Middle (1,150 students) alongside Thomas Jefferson High.

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 Thomas Jefferson High compares

Thomas Jefferson High on the metrics families compare, against Virginia and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Virginia Virginia avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 10.4:1 ▼ 25% 13.9:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 80.4% ▲ 40% 57.6% 51.7%
Enrollment 749 top 27% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

10.4:1
Leaner classes than 87% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
749
Bigger than 83% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
80.4%
free-lunch eligible - 40% 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
10.4:1
students per teacher - 25% below state mean
Top 8% in Virginia - lower ratio than 92% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
27.0%
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
$21,583
per pupil, district-wide - above Virginia avg of $14,649
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 250 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
71
in-school suspensions + 185 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 9.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 34.2 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

African American 63.7%
White 23.1%
Hispanic or Latino 8.1%
Two or More 2.8%
Asian 1.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.8%

Largest group: African American at 63.7% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 53.3/100

Simpson diversity index - at 53.3, Thomas Jefferson High is about as mixed as the Virginia school average of 53.7.

Programs

AP program Not offered
Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Richmond City Public Schools, which includes Thomas Jefferson High.

$21,583
Per student
+47%
vs Virginia
Avg $14,649
+30%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 40.0%
State 34.3%
Federal 25.7%

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 Thomas Jefferson High Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Huguenot High Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
River City Middle Larger Higher economic need Similar S:T ratio
George Wythe High Larger Higher economic need Similar S:T ratio
Cardinal Elementary Similar size Higher economic need Higher S:T ratio
Armstrong High Similar size Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Thomas Jefferson High's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Richmond City Public Schools · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar high schools in Richmond

6 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.

Similar high 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.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Thomas Jefferson High's federal record.

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 Thomas Jefferson High

How many students attend Thomas Jefferson High?

Thomas Jefferson High has 749 students enrolled. It is a high school in Richmond, VA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Thomas Jefferson High?

The student-teacher ratio at Thomas Jefferson High is 10.4:1, which is 25% lower than the Virginia average of 13.9:1 and 34% 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 Thomas Jefferson High?

80.4% of students at Thomas Jefferson High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Virginia average of 57.6%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Thomas Jefferson High?

The largest demographic group at Thomas Jefferson High is African American at 63.7% of enrollment, in Richmond, VA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 53.3/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Thomas Jefferson High?

Thomas Jefferson High has a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Thomas Jefferson High rank among high schools in Richmond?

By Resource Investment Index, Thomas Jefferson High ranks #4 of 15 high schools in Richmond, VA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all high schools in Richmond on the city page.

Is Thomas Jefferson High a good school?

Thomas Jefferson High earns 44/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 92% of 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 Richmond City Public Schools?

Besides Thomas Jefferson High, Richmond City Public Schools also operates Huguenot High (1,469 students), River City Middle (1,150 students), and George Wythe High (1,116 students). See the Richmond City Public Schools district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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.