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Alumni: what's one memory from J.B. Watkins Elementary that still sticks with you?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
913
Elementary
DISTRICT 698 · STATE 499
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CHESTERFIELD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 510084000335
J.B. Watkins Elementary
501 Coalfield Rd., Midlothian, VA 23114 · (804) 378-2530 · Chesterfield County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL913 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
16.5:1
55 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.5:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
18%
160 students
DISTRICT 56% · 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 | 8 | 1% |
| Kindergarten | 127 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 129 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 148 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 143 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 180 | 20% |
| Grade 5 | 178 | 19% |
This year's kindergarten class (127) is 29% smaller than its 5th grade class (178).
Student demographics
56%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 70% · 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
90.0%
VA avg 74.2% . -1.0pp since 2022
Math
92.0%
VA avg 72.7% . +2.0pp since 2022
What this means: On the SOL, Virginia's statewide test, about 90 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 92 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Virginia schools, those numbers are about 74 and 73. Reading and writing scores are down about 1 points since 2022, while math scores are up about 2 points.
SOL results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 90.0% | 92.0% |
| 2023-24 | 88.0% | 90.0% |
| 2022-23 | 91.0% | 90.0% |
% 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
89.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
83.3%
based on VA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+6.5pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 90% 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 J.B. Watkins Elementary
J.B. Watkins Elementary's state test result (89.9% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| J.B. Watkins Elementary this school | 913 | 17.5% | 89.9% |
| Winterpock Elementary Chesterfield | 834 | 15.9% | 85.5% |
| Cedar Road Elementary Chesapeake | 988 | 17.7% | 88.0% |
| Old Hundred Elementary Midlothian | 981 | 13.9% | 85.9% |
| Woolridge Elementary Midlothian | 813 | 11.1% | 87.1% |
| Cool Spring Elementary Mechanicsville | 852 | 13.8% | 83.9% |
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 J.B. Watkins Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Virginia | In Chesterfield County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 89.9% | #56 of 1,101 | #1 of 40 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 92.0% | #59 of 1,111 ▲ 17 | #2 of 40 ▼ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 90.0% | #69 of 1,111 ▲ 24 | #3 of 40 ▼ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 913 | #29 of 1,176 | #3 of 41 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.5:1 | #975 of 1,105 | #35 of 41 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 55.5% | #672 of 1,106 | #32 of 41 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 17.5% | #1,048 of 1,157 | #35 of 41 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -25.2% | #90 of 759 | #2 of 21 |
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
913
+192 (+27%) vs 2020
-13% since 1990-91, when it was 1,049
Student : Teacher
16.5:1
was 14.7:1
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 | 913 | 55.4 | 16.5:1 | 18% (160) |
| 2023-24 | 831 | 50.4 | 16.5:1 | 19% (155) |
| 2022-23 | 814 | 49.5 | 16.4:1 | 15% (126) |
| 2020-21 | 721 | 49 | 14.7:1 | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 1,220 | 65.3 | 18.7:1 | 11% (131) |
| 2015-16 | 1,079 | 58 | 18.6:1 | 11% (114) |
| 2010-11 | 995 | 46 | 21.6:1 | 10% (99) |
| 2000-01 | 702 | 42 | 16.7:1 | 5% (37) |
| 1990-91 | 1,049 | 54 | 19.4:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for J.B. Watkins Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 25% (1,220 to 913); teachers down 15% (65.3 to 55.4).
About J.B. Watkins Elementary
Among the schools in Midlothian, Virginia, is J.B. Watkins Elementary, a high-enrollment elementary school. Students in pre-K through 5 make up the school's enrollment of 913 students. Elementary schools in Virginia have about 499 students on average; enrollment here is 83% higher.
J.B. Watkins Elementary reports to Chesterfield County Public Schools, which has 65 schools and 64,194 students.
The student body at J.B. Watkins Elementary is 64% White. Other reported shares: 13% Black, 9% Asian, 8% multiracial, and 6% Hispanic. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 56, compared with 70 nationally.
Its staff includes 55.4 full-time-equivalent teachers, for about 16.5 students per teacher. The average for elementary schools in Virginia, 13.8:1, is lower. A total of 160 students, or 18%, are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The average for public schools in Chesterfield County is 54%.
J.B. Watkins Elementary sits between the top and bottom 10% of Virginia schools on BeatsExpectations, with an actual average proficiency rate across its state test results of 89.9% and a predicted 83.3%.
The school's county is Chesterfield County. According to Census Bureau estimates, median household income comes to about $101,931, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 44% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 5%. Public schools in Chesterfield County number 76, with about 64,194 students.
About 0.4 miles separate J.B. Watkins Elementary from the closest public school, Midlothian High. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools. Ranked by average proficiency, J.B. Watkins Elementary places 1st out of 9 schools in its immediate area.
J.B. Watkins Elementary is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more, a location NCES labels Suburb: Large.
The 2020-21-to-2024-25 change in enrollment was a 27% rise, from 721 to 913. Its ratio of students to teachers was 14.7:1 in 2020-21, and 16.5:1 in 2024-25.
On allk12, people connected to J.B. Watkins Elementary can post about athletics, class schedules, and weather closures. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Chesterfield County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
377,869
Census ACS
Median income
$101,931
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
44%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
76
64,194 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Chesterfield County Public Schools
- Thomas Dale HighHigh · 2,582 students
- Cosby HighHigh · 2,507 students
- Manchester HighHigh · 2,236 students
- Lloyd C. Bird HighHigh · 2,131 students
- Midlothian HighHigh · 2,048 students
- Meadowbrook HighHigh · 1,953 students
Other schools in Midlothian
- Cosby HighHigh · 2,507 students
- Manchester HighHigh · 2,236 students
- Midlothian HighHigh · 2,048 students
- James River HighHigh · 1,842 students
- Clover Hill HighHigh · 1,742 students
- Tomahawk Creek MiddleMiddle · 1,650 students
Nearby schools
- Midlothian High0.4 mi · 2,048
- Midlothian Middle0.5 mi · 1,330
- Tomahawk Creek Middle2.2 mi · 1,650
- W.W. Gordon Elementary2.4 mi · 628
- Monacan High2.5 mi · 1,644
- Evergreen Elementary2.5 mi · 797
Frequently asked questions
About J.B. Watkins ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at J.B. Watkins Elementary?
J.B. Watkins Elementary enrolls approximately 913 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does J.B. Watkins Elementary serve?
J.B. Watkins Elementary serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at J.B. Watkins Elementary?
Approximately 16.5:1 students per teacher at J.B. Watkins Elementary.
How diverse is J.B. Watkins Elementary?
J.B. Watkins Elementary reports a student body of 64% White, 6% Hispanic, 13% Black, 9% Asian, 8% Two or more.
Is J.B. Watkins Elementary public or private?
J.B. Watkins Elementary is a public K-12 school, overseen by Chesterfield County Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.