James K. Polk Elementary

James K. Polk Elementary, a large elementary school in Alexandria, Virginia, part of Alexandria City Public Schools, enrolls 804 students, covering grades pre-K through 5. Compared to the state average of about 499 students per school, that is 61% above typical.

Within Alexandria City Public Schools, which oversees 18 schools and 16,575 students, James K. Polk Elementary is one campus in the system.

For racial and ethnic makeup, James K. Polk Elementary shows that the most-represented group is Hispanic (32%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. The remainder comes out to 26% Black, 25% White, 12% Asian, 6% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 18% Hispanic, putting the school's mix visibly more Hispanic than the area baseline.

On the income-and-resources front, Staff filings list 48 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 16.9:1 students per teacher. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.8:1, putting James K. Polk Elementary higher than the state norm the norm. Roughly 76% of students at James K. Polk Elementary qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, James K. Polk Elementary performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 67.5%, the actual is 61.0%, a residual of -6.5 points.

In the broader community, ACS estimates for Alexandria city put median household income runs about $119,681, roughly 66% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Alexandria city runs 20 public schools (combined enrollment of about 16,575 students), of which James K. Polk Elementary is one.

Patrick Henry K-8 School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.3 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around James K. Polk Elementary. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts James K. Polk Elementary at 3rd of 7; the average score across the group is 55.0%.

The campus sits in an inner-city setting.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count stayed largely flat: 818 students in 2018 compared to 804 in 2025. Black enrollment moved from 36% to 26% across the same window.

Within the allk12 community for this school, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.