Enrollment
350
Elementary
DISTRICT 430 · STATE 605
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WHITFIELD COUNTY·NCES 130570001831
Varnell Elementary School
3900 Cleveland Rd, Dalton, GA 30721 · (706) 694-3471 · Whitfield County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL350 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
13.3:1
26 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.4:1 · STATE 13.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
99%
347 students
DISTRICT 93% · STATE 74%
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
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 44 | 13% |
| Grade 1 | 59 | 17% |
| Grade 2 | 62 | 18% |
| Grade 3 | 56 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 56 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 73 | 21% |
This year's kindergarten class (44) is 40% smaller than its 5th grade class (73).
Student demographics
54%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 56% · STATE 71% · US 70%
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
Test scores
Georgia Milestones 2024-25 . % Proficient or DistinguishedEnglish Language Arts
41.3%
GA avg 40.1% . +6.6pp since 2021
Math
42.9%
GA avg 44.6% . -2.9pp since 2021
What this means: On the Georgia Milestones, Georgia's statewide test, about 41 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 43 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Georgia schools, those numbers are about 40 and 45. Reading and writing scores are up about 7 points since 2021, while math scores are down about 3 points.
Georgia Milestones results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 41.3% | 42.9% |
| 2023-24 | 35.5% | 48.5% |
| 2022-23 | 37.0% | 43.9% |
| 2021-22 | 34.6% | 45.8% |
% Proficient or Distinguished, all students and all tested grades.
Source: Georgia Milestones. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
40.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
26.1%
based on GA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+14.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 40% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 26% typical for Georgia schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Georgia's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Varnell Elementary School
Varnell Elementary School's state test result (40.3% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Varnell Elementary School this school | 350 | 99.1% | 40.3% |
| Ambrose Elementary School Ambrose | 391 | 100.0% | 36.7% |
| West Green Elementary School West Green | 412 | 100.0% | 25.4% |
| Swain Elementary School Plainville | 371 | 99.2% | 36.3% |
| Valley Point Elementary School Dalton | 469 | 100.0% | 40.2% |
| Youngs Grove Elementary School Cedartown | 490 | 96.1% | 33.3% |
Matched among Georgia elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Varnell Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Georgia | In Whitfield County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 40.3% | #548 of 1,208 | #9 of 19 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 42.9% | #560 of 1,215 ▼ 114 | #11 of 19 ▼ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 41.3% | #437 of 1,215 ▲ 188 | #7 of 19 ▲ 5 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +1.9pp | #612 of 1,183 | #9 of 19 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 350 | #1,180 of 1,324 | #17 of 19 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.3:1 | #612 of 1,301 | #17 of 19 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 53.9% | #682 of 1,301 | #6 of 19 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 99.1% | #463 of 1,312 | #8 of 19 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -18.0% | #281 of 854 | #2 of 16 |
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 2024-25Enrollment
350
-20 (-5%) vs 2020
-43% since 1990-91, when it was 616
Student : Teacher
13.3:1
was 12.8:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 350 | 26.4 | 13.3:1 | 99% (347) |
| 2023-24 | 389 | 28.9 | 13.5:1 | 73% (285) |
| 2022-23 | 374 | 28.3 | 13.2:1 | 66% (245) |
| 2020-21 | 370 | 29 | 12.8:1 | 65% (241) |
| 2017-18 | 427 | 30.5 | 14.0:1 | 71% (304) |
| 2015-16 | 440 | 29 | 15.2:1 | 66% (292) |
| 2010-11 | 474 | 32 | 14.8:1 | 70% (332) |
| 2000-01 | 518 | 31 | 16.7:1 | 29% (148) |
| 1990-91 | 616 | 31 | 19.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Varnell Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 18% (427 to 350); teachers down 13% (30.5 to 26.4).
About Varnell Elementary School
Varnell Elementary School operates as a low-enrollment elementary school in Dalton, Georgia. It serves 350 students in kindergarten through 5. The average among elementary schools in Georgia is roughly 605 students; this school is 42% smaller than that.
Varnell Elementary School sits within Whitfield County, which has 22 schools and 11,942 students.
At Varnell Elementary School, White students make up 59% of the student body. After that, the student body is 33% Hispanic, 3% Black, 2% Asian, and 2% multiracial. The school's diversity index is 54%, meaning two students picked at random have a 54% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Varnell Elementary School employs 26.4 full-time-equivalent teachers. That gives a ratio of about 13.3:1. For comparison, elementary schools in Georgia average 13.3:1. Varnell Elementary School's free or reduced-price lunch eligibility rate is 99%. That is higher than the 83% average for public schools in Whitfield County.
Varnell Elementary School posts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 40.3%, compared with a predicted 26.1%. It is not in the top or bottom 10% of Georgia schools on BeatsExpectations.
Census estimates describe Whitfield County this way: the median household income is $67,070, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 20% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 11%. In all, Whitfield County has 33 public schools and roughly 19,570 students.
The next-closest public school is Coahulla Creek High School, about 1.5 miles away. Varnell Elementary School is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. Varnell Elementary School ranks 5th of 9 among nearby schools on average proficiency, with 40.3% against a local average of 43.3%.
The NCES locale for Varnell Elementary School is Rural: Fringe, which covers schools in rural territory close to an urban area.
The school enrolled 350 students in 2024-25, 20 fewer than the 370 it had in 2020-21.
The allk12 site hosts a discussion page for Varnell Elementary School covering things like sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Whitfield County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
103,598
Census ACS
Median income
$67,070
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
20%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
33
19,570 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Whitfield County
- Southeast Whitfield County High SchoolHigh · 1,453 students
- Northwest Whitfield County High SchoolHigh · 1,098 students
- Coahulla Creek High SchoolHigh · 1,041 students
- North Whitfield Middle SchoolMiddle · 731 students
- Eastbrook Middle SchoolMiddle · 624 students
- Eastside Elementary SchoolElementary · 579 students
Other schools in Dalton
- Dalton High SchoolHigh · 1,919 students
- Southeast Whitfield County High SchoolHigh · 1,453 students
- Hammond Creek Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,057 students
- Coahulla Creek High SchoolHigh · 1,041 students
- North Whitfield Middle SchoolMiddle · 731 students
- City Park Elementary SchoolElementary · 707 students
Nearby schools
- Coahulla Creek High School1.5 mi · 1,041
- North Whitfield Middle School1.6 mi · 731
- New Hope Middle School2.7 mi · 454
- New Hope Elementary School2.9 mi · 511
- Northwest Whitfield County High School3.4 mi · 1,098
- Cohutta Elementary School4.5 mi · 287
Frequently asked questions
About Varnell Elementary SchoolHow large is Varnell Elementary School?
Varnell Elementary School enrolls approximately 350 students in grades KG-05.
What age range does Varnell Elementary School serve?
Varnell Elementary School serves students from grade KG through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Varnell Elementary School?
Approximately 13.3:1 students per teacher at Varnell Elementary School.
How diverse is Varnell Elementary School?
Varnell Elementary School reports a student body of 59% White, 33% Hispanic, 3% Black, 2% Asian, 2% Two or more.
What district is Varnell Elementary School in?
Varnell Elementary School is part of Whitfield County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.