Harold Macon Ratcliffe Elementary

Located at 2901 Thalen St, in Richmond, Virginia, Harold Macon Ratcliffe Elementary is a tight-knit elementary-level community that caters to 417 students (grades pre-K through 5), one of the schools within Henrico County Public Schools.

Harold Macon Ratcliffe Elementary is one of 69 schools operated by Henrico County Public Schools, a district that hosts 51,044 students overall.

In terms of who attends, Harold Macon Ratcliffe Elementary records that nearly all students (90%) are Black. Beyond that, the school shows 6% Hispanic, 2% multiracial. That is visibly more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 29%.

Looking at school resources, On paper, Harold Macon Ratcliffe Elementary has 32 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 13.1:1. The state averages around 13.8:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. About 90% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. That share is higher than Henrico County's rate of about 67%.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Harold Macon Ratcliffe Elementary is in the bottom 10% of Virginia public schools. The BeatsExpectations model predicts schools with this FRL share to land around 63.7%; Harold Macon Ratcliffe Elementary posts 36.3%, -27.4 points below that line.

Zooming out to the county, the surrounding county (Henrico County) shows that the typical household earns roughly $88,783 per year, 47% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 6%. In all, Henrico County runs 84 public schools (combined enrollment of about 51,753 students), of which Harold Macon Ratcliffe Elementary is one.

Harvie Elementary is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.6 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Harold Macon Ratcliffe Elementary ranks 8th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 48.2%.

Geographically, the school is in a commuter-belt area.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Harold Macon Ratcliffe Elementary has decreased 11%, going from 467 students in 2018 to 417 in 2025. Class-load math has narrowed: from 16.5:1 in 2018 to 13.1:1 in 2025.

On the community side, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.