Harding Avenue Elementary

As a small elementary-level community in Blacksburg, Virginia, Harding Avenue Elementary teaches 279 students from grades K through 5, run under Montgomery County Public Schools. Compared to the state average of about 499 students per school, that is 44% below typical.

Harding Avenue Elementary is one of 19 schools operated by Montgomery County Public Schools, a district that works with 9,461 students overall.

On the student-mix side, Harding Avenue Elementary reports that White students make up the majority at 71%. Other groups include 11% Asian, 7% Hispanic, 7% multiracial, 4% Black. By comparison, Montgomery County as a whole is about 82% White, so the school skews noticeably less White than its surroundings.

Looking at school resources, Harding Avenue Elementary shows 21 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 13.2:1. That tracks the state average closely. About 24% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. That share is noticeably below Montgomery County's rate of about 45%.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Harding Avenue Elementary performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 81.7%, the actual is 91.8%, a residual of +10.1 points.

In the surrounding community, the surrounding county (Montgomery County) reports that median household earnings sit near $72,715, about 49% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 9%. Across Montgomery County's 23 public schools (combined enrollment of about 9,461 students), Harding Avenue Elementary is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: Gilbert Linkous Elementary, around 0.8 miles off. Within five miles, there are 6 other public schools. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Harding Avenue Elementary ranks 1st on composite proficiency, ahead of the local average of 80.7%.

The school occupies a high-density site.

Looking at the recent track record. Harding Avenue Elementary's enrollment has declined 20% since 2018, when it stood at 349 (now 279). The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 16.2:1 in 2018 to 13.2:1 today.

Within the allk12 community for this school, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.