Cool Spring Elementary

Cool Spring Elementary is a primary school of mid-tier scale in Petersburg, Virginia, part of Petersburg City Public Schools, caters to 540 students in grades K through 5.

Across the 7 schools in Petersburg City Public Schools (4,582 students total), Cool Spring Elementary accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Cool Spring Elementary reports that nearly all students (85%) are Black; the rest consists of 9% Hispanic, 4% White. That is visibly more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 77%.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Staff filings list 37 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 14.6:1 students per teacher. That figure is higher than the state norm's 13.8:1 average. Around 94% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

After controlling for student poverty, Cool Spring Elementary is in the bottom 10% of Virginia public schools. The BeatsExpectations model predicts schools with this FRL share to land around 62.4%; Cool Spring Elementary posts 29.9%, -32.6 points below that line.

Zooming out to the county, community-level numbers for Petersburg city indicate the typical household earns roughly $50,698 per year, 25% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 20%. In all, Petersburg city runs 9 public schools (combined enrollment of about 4,582 students), of which Cool Spring Elementary is one.

Nearest neighbor: Westview Early Childhood Education Center, around 0.6 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Cool Spring Elementary. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Cool Spring Elementary at 6th of 8; the average score across the group is 43.9%.

Cool Spring Elementary operates from a suburban location.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Cool Spring Elementary has grew 7%, going from 504 students in 2018 to 540 in 2025. The Black share of enrollment edged down from 96% to 85% over that span.

On allk12, recent activity here tends to focus on fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.