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SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 110003000042

LaSalle-Backus Elementary School

501 Riggs Rd. NE, Washington, DC 20011 · (202) 671-6340 · District of Columbia
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY11-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL279 STUDENTS
B
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 58% of District of Columbia public elementary schools
  • BTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
  • ·Beats expectations Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
  • ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.

Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded District of Columbia public elementary schools

Enrollment
279
Elementary
DISTRICT 380 · STATE 348
Student : Teacher
8.0:1
35 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 10.4:1 · STATE 11.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
,
Title I proxy
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.

Enrollment by grade, 2024-25

GradeStudentsShare
Pre-K5921%
Kindergarten5219%
Grade 13613%
Grade 23613%
Grade 33111%
Grade 43713%
Grade 52810%

This year's kindergarten class (52) is 86% larger than its 5th grade class (28).

Student demographics
56%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 62% · STATE 56% · US 70%
White
124%
DISTRICT 18% · STATE 13% · US 43%
Hispanic
11943%
DISTRICT 22% · STATE 19% · US 30%
Black
14251%
DISTRICT 54% · STATE 62% · US 15%
Asian
31%
DISTRICT 2% · STATE 1% · US 6%
Two+
31%
DISTRICT 4% · STATE 4% · US 5%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Male
14753%
Female
13247%

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Test scores

DC CAPE 2024-25 . % Meeting + Exceeding
English Language Arts
28.4%
DC avg 37.9%
Math
30.5%
DC avg 27.5%

What this means: On the DC CAPE, District of Columbia's statewide test, about 28 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 31 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all District of Columbia schools, those numbers are about 38 and 28.

Source: DC CAPE. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →

Where LaSalle-Backus Elementary School ranks

Among elementary schools
MeasureThis schoolIn District of ColumbiaIn District of Columbia
Math proficiency
ranked highest first
30.5%#45 of 127#45 of 127
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
28.4%#60 of 131#60 of 131
Enrollment
ranked largest first
279#99 of 156#99 of 156
Students per teacher
ranked fewest first
8.0:1#7 of 135#7 of 135
Diversity index
ranked most diverse first
55.7%#43 of 135#43 of 135
Enrollment change since 2017-18
ranked steepest decline first
-23.1%#27 of 73#27 of 73
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.

4-year change

SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25
Enrollment
279
-7 (-2%) vs 2020
-43% since 1990-91, when it was 491
Student : Teacher
8.0:1
was 7.7:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree and reduced lunch
2024-25279358.0:1N/A
2023-2426131.38.3:1N/A
2022-23255357.3:1N/A
2020-21286377.7:1N/A
2017-1836337.59.7:1N/A
2015-163413111.0:1100% (341)
2010-11300319.7:194% (281)
2000-013402513.6:144% (148)
1990-914912123.4:1N/A
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for LaSalle-Backus Elementary School.

About LaSalle-Backus Elementary School

LaSalle-Backus Elementary School is listed by the National Center for Education Statistics as an elementary school in Washington, District of Columbia. The school had 279 students in pre-K through 5 in 2024-25.

Enrollment across the 117 schools in District of Columbia Public Schools totals 52,030 students.

Black students are the majority at LaSalle-Backus Elementary School, with 51% of enrollment. The school is also 43% Hispanic and 4% White. The Black share of the county population is lower, at 42%. The school's diversity index is 56%, meaning two students picked at random have a 56% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.

At LaSalle-Backus Elementary School, 35 full-time-equivalent teachers work with students, a ratio of about 8.0:1. That is lower than the 11.0:1 average for elementary schools in District of Columbia.

Measured against District of Columbia public elementary schools, LaSalle-Backus Elementary School receives a B. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.

In District of Columbia (population about 681,294), the median household income is $109,870, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 64% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 12%. There are 247 public schools in District of Columbia, enrolling about 94,385 students in all.

Social Justice PCS is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.4 miles away. The five-mile area around LaSalle-Backus Elementary School holds at least 8 other public schools.

Locale: City: Large. In NCES terms, the school is inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more.

In 2020-21, LaSalle-Backus Elementary School enrolled 286; in 2024-25, 279.

The LaSalle-Backus Elementary School community page is open for posts about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.

District of Columbia at a glance

View full county profile
Population
681,294
Census ACS
Median income
$109,870
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
64%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
12%
Below federal line
Schools in county
247
94,385 students

Quick facts

School name
LaSalle-Backus Elementary School
District
District of Columbia Public Schools
Address
501 Riggs Rd. NE, Washington, DC 20011
Phone
(202) 671-6340
County
District of Columbia
Level
Elementary
Grade range
PK–05
Total enrollment
279
Teachers (FTE)
35
Student–teacher ratio
8.0:1
Locale
11-City: Large
NCES ID
110003000042
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in District of Columbia Public Schools
Other schools in Washington
Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About LaSalle-Backus Elementary School
How large is LaSalle-Backus Elementary School?
LaSalle-Backus Elementary School enrolls approximately 279 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does LaSalle-Backus Elementary School serve?
LaSalle-Backus Elementary School serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at LaSalle-Backus Elementary School?
Approximately 8.0:1 students per teacher at LaSalle-Backus Elementary School.
What is the racial breakdown of students at LaSalle-Backus Elementary School?
At LaSalle-Backus Elementary School, the student body is approximately 4% White, 43% Hispanic, 51% Black, 1% Asian, 1% Two or more.
Is LaSalle-Backus Elementary School public or private?
LaSalle-Backus Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by District of Columbia Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
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