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What's the best and worst thing about the food at Henry D. Ward Elementary?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
526
Elementary
DISTRICT 503 · STATE 499
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·HENRICO COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 510189001128
Henry D. Ward Elementary
3400 Darbytown Road, Richmond, VA 23231 · (804) 795-7030 · Henrico County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL526 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
17.0:1
31 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.0:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
89%
470 students
DISTRICT 75% · STATE 66%
Community
1
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 25 | 5% |
| Kindergarten | 83 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 76 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 69 | 13% |
| Grade 3 | 71 | 13% |
| Grade 4 | 94 | 18% |
| Grade 5 | 108 | 21% |
This year's kindergarten class (83) is 23% smaller than its 5th grade class (108).
Student demographics
44%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 74% · 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
65.0%
VA avg 74.2% . +10.0pp since 2022
Math
56.0%
VA avg 72.7% . +4.0pp since 2022
What this means: On the SOL, Virginia's statewide test, about 65 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 56 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Virginia schools, those numbers are about 74 and 73. Reading and writing scores are up about 10 points since 2022, while math scores are up about 4 points.
SOL results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 65.0% | 56.0% |
| 2023-24 | 56.0% | 52.0% |
| 2022-23 | 55.0% | 52.0% |
% 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
60.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
63.8%
based on VA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-3.8pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 60% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 64% 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 Henry D. Ward Elementary
Henry D. Ward Elementary's state test result (60.0% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Henry D. Ward Elementary this school | 526 | 89.4% | 60.0% |
| Aberdeen Elementary Hampton | 482 | 90.2% | 60.0% |
| A.W.E. Bassette Elementary Hampton | 486 | 92.2% | 65.6% |
| Christopher C. Kraft Elementary Hampton | 452 | 92.3% | 66.9% |
| Luther W. Machen Elementary Hampton | 430 | 95.1% | 65.5% |
| Mary S. Peake Elementary Hampton | 404 | 92.3% | 67.4% |
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 Henry D. Ward Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Virginia | In Henrico County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 60.0% | #838 of 1,101 | #27 of 45 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 56.0% | #948 of 1,111 ▲ 4 | #28 of 45 ▲ 3 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 65.0% | #739 of 1,111 ▲ 195 | #23 of 45 ▲ 10 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 526 | #512 of 1,176 | #19 of 46 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.0:1 | #1,019 of 1,105 | #42 of 46 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 44.0% | #854 of 1,106 | #34 of 46 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 89.4% | #345 of 1,157 | #14 of 46 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +6.9% | #169 of 324 | #7 of 20 |
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
526
+54 (+11%) vs 2020
+29% since 2000-01, when it was 409
Student : Teacher
17.0:1
was 17.5:1
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 | 526 | 31 | 17.0:1 | 89% (470) |
| 2023-24 | 499 | 29 | 17.2:1 | 93% (463) |
| 2022-23 | 470 | 32 | 14.7:1 | 90% (421) |
| 2020-21 | 472 | 27 | 17.5:1 | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 492 | 30 | 16.4:1 | 67% (332) |
| 2015-16 | 519 | 30 | 17.3:1 | 63% (328) |
| 2010-11 | 480 | 26 | 18.5:1 | 55% (265) |
| 2000-01 | 409 | 31 | 13.2:1 | 43% (174) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Henry D. Ward Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 7% (492 to 526); teachers up 3% (30 to 31).
About Henry D. Ward Elementary
Henry D. Ward Elementary is a public mid-sized elementary school in Richmond, Virginia. The school teaches pre-K through 5 and enrolls 526 students.
The district for Henry D. Ward Elementary is Henrico County Public Schools, with 69 schools and 51,044 students.
The share of Black students at Henry D. Ward Elementary is 73%, a majority. The school is also 16% White, 7% multiracial, and 5% Hispanic. That is higher than the 29% Black share among all Henrico County residents. A diversity index of 44% means there is a 44% chance two randomly chosen students at Henry D. Ward Elementary are from different groups.
Based on 31 full-time-equivalent teachers, Henry D. Ward Elementary has a ratio of 17.0:1. Across elementary schools in Virginia, the average ratio is 13.8:1. Income data for the school show 89% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The 67% average for public schools in Henrico County is 22 points lower.
Based on student poverty, the model expects 63.8% at Henry D. Ward Elementary; the school's average proficiency rate across its state test results is 60.0%.
For Henrico County, Census Bureau data show the median household earns about $88,783 a year, roughly 47% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Counting Henry D. Ward Elementary, Henrico County has 84 public schools.
A public school about 2.3 miles away, Varina Elementary, is the closest to Henry D. Ward Elementary. In all, at least 8 other public schools sit within five miles of Henry D. Ward Elementary. Among its closest neighbors with test data, Henry D. Ward Elementary is 3rd of 7 on proficiency.
For locale, NCES codes Henry D. Ward Elementary as Suburb: Large.
Enrollment was 526 in 2024-25. In 2020-21, it was 472.
Anyone can start a thread about athletics, class schedules, and weather closures at Henry D. Ward Elementary. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Henrico County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
335,744
Census ACS
Median income
$88,783
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
47%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
84
51,753 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Henrico County Public Schools
- John Randolph Tucker HighHigh · 2,132 students
- Deep Run HighHigh · 1,992 students
- Glen Allen HighHigh · 1,939 students
- Highland Springs HighHigh · 1,928 students
- Douglas S. Freeman HighHigh · 1,881 students
- Hermitage HighHigh · 1,719 students
Other schools in Richmond
- John Randolph Tucker HighHigh · 2,132 students
- Douglas S. Freeman HighHigh · 1,881 students
- Hermitage HighHigh · 1,719 students
- Mills E. Godwin HighHigh · 1,702 students
- Monacan HighHigh · 1,644 students
- Huguenot HighHigh · 1,469 students
Nearby schools
- Varina Elementary2.3 mi · 274
- Henrico Virtual Academy2.3 mi · 526
- Anthony P. Mehfoud Elementary2.4 mi · 330
- George F. Baker Elementary2.6 mi · 462
- John Rolfe Middle2.7 mi · 874
- Varina High3.0 mi · 1,420
Frequently asked questions
About Henry D. Ward ElementaryHow large is Henry D. Ward Elementary?
Henry D. Ward Elementary enrolls approximately 526 students in grades PK-05.
Is Henry D. Ward Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
Henry D. Ward Elementary is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
How many teachers does Henry D. Ward Elementary have?
Henry D. Ward Elementary employs 31 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 17.0:1.
What is the student diversity at Henry D. Ward Elementary?
Student demographics at Henry D. Ward Elementary are roughly 16% White, 5% Hispanic, 73% Black, 7% Two or more.
Who oversees Henry D. Ward Elementary?
Henry D. Ward Elementary is overseen by Henrico County Public Schools in Henrico County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.