Other / mixed grade configuration · Roanoke, VA

Westside Elementary

Federal NCES profile for Westside Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 49/100.

2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 510330001437
0/100100/10049/100
👥 S:T ratio
51
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
38
📋 Attendance
39
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Westside Elementary earns 49/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 76% of Virginia schools.

#21 of 27
schools in Roanoke · Resource Index
49
Resource Index · Higher
12.2:1
small classes for Virginia
98.4%
free-lunch eligible

Westside Elementary has class sizes smaller than 76% of Virginia schools. Computed live against every Virginia school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Westside Elementary ranks #21 of 27 schools in Roanoke, VA.

Enrollment

624

Virginia · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

51.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

12.2:1

vs 13.9:1 Virginia avg

-12% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

98.4%

vs 57.6% Virginia avg

+71% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Westside Elementary compares with Virginia and U.S. medians

At or below 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 Westside Elementary

Westside Elementary is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Roanoke, Virginia, enrolling 624 students.

Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.2:1 puts it in the smaller third of Virginia schools by student-teacher ratio.

Economic need is high: 98.4% of students qualify for free meals, 71% above the Virginia average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.

With 624 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 255 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #88.

Its student body is led by African American (55%) and Hispanic or Latino (24%) (diversity index 62/100).

Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 312 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.

Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 24.5% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.

Its district draws 21.7% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Among Roanoke's public schools, it stands alongside Round Hill Elementary (720 students): Westside Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (12.2:1 vs 14.7:1).

Roanoke City Public Schools also operates Patrick Henry High (2,030 students) and William Fleming High (1,957 students) alongside Westside 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 Westside Elementary compares

Westside 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 12.2:1 ▼ 12% 13.9:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 98.4% ▲ 71% 57.6% 51.7%
Enrollment 624 top 40% - -

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

12.2:1
Leaner classes than 74% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
624
Bigger than 75% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
98.4%
free-lunch eligible - 71% above the Virginia average of 57.6%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
12.2:1
students per teacher - 12% below state mean
Top 24% in Virginia - lower ratio than 76% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
24.5%
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
$15,299
per pupil, district-wide - above Virginia avg of $14,649
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 312 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
4
in-school suspensions + 45 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 7.9 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 54.8%
Hispanic or Latino 23.9%
White 11.1%
Two or More 8.5%
Asian 1.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%

Largest group: African American at 54.8% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 62.3/100

Simpson diversity index - at 62.3, Westside Elementary is more mixed than the Virginia school average of 53.7.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Roanoke City Public Schools, which includes Westside Elementary.

$15,299
Per student
+4%
vs Virginia
Avg $14,649
-8%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 34.8%
State 43.6%
Federal 21.7%

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 Westside Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Patrick Henry High Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
William Fleming High Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Breckinridge Middle Similar size Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Round Hill Elementary Similar size No free-lunch data Higher S:T ratio
Woodrow Wilson Middle Similar size Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Westside Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Roanoke City Public Schools · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar other schools in Roanoke

6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.

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.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Westside Elementary'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 Westside Elementary

How many students attend Westside Elementary?

Westside Elementary has 624 students enrolled. It is a public school in Roanoke, VA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Westside Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at Westside Elementary is 12.2:1, which is 12% lower than the Virginia average of 13.9:1 and 22% 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 Westside Elementary?

98.4% of students at Westside Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Virginia average of 57.6%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Westside Elementary?

The largest demographic group at Westside Elementary is African American at 54.8% of enrollment, in Roanoke, VA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 62.3/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Westside Elementary?

Westside Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 49/100 (higher 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).

How does Westside Elementary rank among schools in Roanoke?

By Resource Investment Index, Westside Elementary ranks #21 of 27 schools in Roanoke, VA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Roanoke on the city page.

Is Westside Elementary a good school?

Westside Elementary earns 49/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 76% 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 Roanoke City Public Schools?

Besides Westside Elementary, Roanoke City Public Schools also operates Patrick Henry High (2,030 students), William Fleming High (1,957 students), and Breckinridge Middle (733 students). See the Roanoke 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.