Enrollment
384
Elementary
DISTRICT 318 · STATE 499
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BEDFORD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 510036002142
Forest Elementary
One Scholar Lane, Forest, VA 24551 · (434) 525-2681 · Bedford County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY22-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL384 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
17.6:1
22 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.8:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
18%
69 students
DISTRICT 66% · STATE 66%
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 | 52 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 54 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 70 | 18% |
| Grade 3 | 79 | 21% |
| Grade 4 | 57 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 72 | 19% |
This year's kindergarten class (52) is 28% smaller than its 5th grade class (72).
Student demographics
47%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 38% · 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
SOL 2024-25 . % PassingEnglish Language Arts
86.0%
VA avg 74.2% . +0.0pp since 2022
Math
87.0%
VA avg 72.7% . +3.0pp since 2022
What this means: On the SOL, Virginia's statewide test, about 86 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 87 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Virginia schools, those numbers are about 74 and 73. Reading and writing scores have held steady since 2022, while math scores are up about 3 points.
SOL results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 86.0% | 87.0% |
| 2023-24 | 87.0% | 86.0% |
| 2022-23 | 86.0% | 84.0% |
% Passing, all students and all tested grades.
Source: SOL. 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
87.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
83.2%
based on VA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+3.9pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 87% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 83% typical for Virginia 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 Virginia'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 Forest Elementary
Forest Elementary's state test result (87.1% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forest Elementary this school | 384 | 18.0% | 87.1% |
| North Landing Elementary Virginia Beach | 463 | 19.0% | 86.4% |
| Armstrong Elementary Reston | 357 | 19.3% | 73.5% |
| Cave Spring Elementary Roanoke | 489 | 23.1% | 88.6% |
| Emerick Elementary Purcellville | 416 | 12.5% | 90.5% |
| Harrington Waddell Elementary Lexington | 350 | 25.4% | 92.3% |
Matched among Virginia 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 Forest Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Virginia | In Bedford County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 87.1% | #109 of 1,101 | #2 of 12 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 87.0% | #183 of 1,111 ▼ 10 | #3 of 12 ▲ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 86.0% | #157 of 1,111 ▼ 41 | #2 of 12 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 384 | #849 of 1,176 | #4 of 13 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.6:1 | #1,051 of 1,105 | #11 of 11 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 47.4% | #808 of 1,106 | #3 of 11 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 18.0% | #1,043 of 1,157 | #13 of 13 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +7.0% | #167 of 324 | N/A |
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
384
+119 (+45%) vs 2020
-13% since 1990-91, when it was 439
Student : Teacher
17.6:1
was 15.6:1
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 | 384 | 21.8 | 17.6:1 | 18% (69) |
| 2023-24 | 362 | 19.8 | 18.3:1 | 18% (65) |
| 2022-23 | 351 | 20.8 | 16.9:1 | 17% (59) |
| 2020-21 | 265 | 17 | 15.6:1 | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 359 | 21.3 | 16.8:1 | 13% (48) |
| 2015-16 | 364 | 19 | 19.2:1 | 10% (36) |
| 2010-11 | 456 | 26 | 17.5:1 | 14% (63) |
| 2000-01 | 339 | 21 | 16.1:1 | 4% (15) |
| 1990-91 | 439 | 22 | 19.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Forest Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 7% (359 to 384); teachers up 2% (21.3 to 21.8).
About Forest Elementary
Families in Forest, Virginia, are served by Forest Elementary, a low-enrollment elementary school. Enrollment stands at 384 students, covering pre-K through 5. That puts enrollment 23% below the 499-student average for elementary schools in Virginia.
Bedford County Public Schools operates 19 schools. Combined enrollment is 8,930 students.
The share of White students at Forest Elementary is 71%, a majority. After that, the student body is 9% Asian, 8% Hispanic, 5% multiracial, and 5% Black. Census figures show Bedford County is about 86% White. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 47, compared with 70 nationally.
There are 21.8 full-time-equivalent teachers at the school, a ratio of 17.6:1. Across elementary schools in Virginia, the average ratio is 13.8:1. Of all students at Forest Elementary, 18% are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The gap from the 59% average for public schools in Bedford County is 41 points.
The BeatsExpectations prediction for Forest Elementary is 83.2%, and its average proficiency rate across its state test results is 87.1%.
Census data for Bedford County show the median household earns about $78,937 a year, roughly 34% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 5% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Counting Forest Elementary, Bedford County has 22 public schools.
Jefferson Forest High is about 0.3 miles from Forest Elementary, the shortest distance to any other public school. Counting only straight-line distance, 7 other public schools are within five miles. By average proficiency, Forest Elementary is 2nd among 9 schools close by.
Its NCES locale code is Suburb: Mid-size: the school is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
In 2020-21, federal data counted 265 students at Forest Elementary; in 2024-25, 384. The grades served may not have been the same in both years. The student-to-teacher ratio increased from 15.6:1 in 2020-21 to 17.6:1 in 2024-25.
The discussion board for Forest Elementary is open to topics like special education services, counseling, and support programs. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Bedford County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
80,894
Census ACS
Median income
$78,937
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
34%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
22
8,930 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Bedford County Public Schools
- Jefferson Forest HighHigh · 1,282 students
- Forest MiddleMiddle · 854 students
- Staunton River HighHigh · 816 students
- Liberty HighHigh · 708 students
- Staunton River MiddleMiddle · 612 students
- Thomas Jefferson ElementaryElementary · 567 students
Other schools in Forest
- Jefferson Forest HighHigh · 1,282 students
- Forest MiddleMiddle · 854 students
- Thomas Jefferson ElementaryElementary · 567 students
- New London Academy ElementaryElementary · 330 students
Other Forest Elementary schools
7 other US public schools in 7 states are named Forest Elementary. Forest Elementary is the 7th largest of the 8.
- Forest ElementaryFOREST, MS · 740 students
- Forest Elementary SchoolDes Plaines, IL · 658 students
- FOREST ELEMENTARY SCHOOLWILLIAMSVILLE, NY · 515 students
- FOREST ELEMENTARYCRYSTAL, MN · 464 students
- Forest Elementary SchoolFARMINGTON HILLS, MI · 404 students
Nearby schools
- Jefferson Forest High0.3 mi · 1,282
- Forest Middle0.5 mi · 854
- Thomas Jefferson Elementary1.7 mi · 567
- Brookville Middle4.3 mi · 648
- Tomahawk Elementary4.4 mi · 667
- Brookville High4.5 mi · 1,017
Frequently asked questions
About Forest ElementaryHow large is Forest Elementary?
Forest Elementary enrolls approximately 384 students in grades PK-05.
Is Forest Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
Forest Elementary is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
How many teachers does Forest Elementary have?
Forest Elementary employs 22 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 17.6:1.
How diverse is Forest Elementary?
Forest Elementary reports a student body of 71% White, 8% Hispanic, 5% Black, 9% Asian, 5% Two or more.
Is Forest Elementary public or private?
Forest Elementary is a public K-12 school, overseen by Bedford County Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.