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What do students at Joseph H. Saunders Elementary actually talk about outside of class?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
660
Elementary
DISTRICT 467 · STATE 499
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·NEWPORT NEWS CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 510264001059
Joseph H. Saunders Elementary
853 Harpersville Rd, Newport News, VA 23601 · (757) 591-4781 · Newport News city
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL660 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 13% of Virginia public elementary schools
- DTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Virginia public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
18.9:1
35 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 18.0:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
101%
666 students
DISTRICT 99% · 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 114 | 17% |
| Grade 1 | 125 | 19% |
| Grade 2 | 113 | 17% |
| Grade 3 | 109 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 99 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 100 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (114) is 14% larger than its 5th grade class (100).
Student demographics
66%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 65% · 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
45.0%
VA avg 74.2% . +2.0pp since 2022
Math
49.0%
VA avg 72.7% . +10.0pp since 2022
What this means: On the SOL, Virginia's statewide test, about 45 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 49 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 2 points since 2022, while math scores are up about 10 points.
SOL results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 45.0% | 49.0% |
| 2023-24 | 52.0% | 46.0% |
| 2022-23 | 43.0% | 39.0% |
% 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
49.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
60.6%
based on VA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-11.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 49% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 61% 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 →
Where Joseph H. Saunders Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Virginia | In Newport News city |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 49.4% | #983 of 1,101 | #17 of 24 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 49.0% | #1,034 of 1,111 ▼ 30 | #20 of 24 ▼ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 45.0% | #1,057 of 1,111 ▼ 67 | #22 of 24 ▼ 5 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 660 | #248 of 1,176 | #1 of 27 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 18.9:1 | #1,086 of 1,105 | #19 of 27 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 66.1% | #370 of 1,106 | #12 of 27 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 101% | #65 of 1,157 | #5 of 27 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -11.6% | #391 of 759 | #14 of 25 |
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
660
+26 (+4%) vs 2020
+8% since 1990-91, when it was 610
Student : Teacher
18.9:1
was 16.3:1
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 | 660 | 35 | 18.9:1 | N/A |
| 2023-24 | 671 | 38.8 | 17.3:1 | 97% (652) |
| 2022-23 | 621 | 38.5 | 16.1:1 | 89% (554) |
| 2020-21 | 634 | 39 | 16.3:1 | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 747 | 38 | 19.7:1 | 84% (631) |
| 2015-16 | 684 | 36 | 19.0:1 | 66% (452) |
| 2010-11 | 670 | 36 | 18.6:1 | 59% (395) |
| 2000-01 | 472 | 35 | 13.5:1 | 52% (247) |
| 1990-91 | 610 | 34 | 17.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Joseph H. Saunders Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 12% (747 to 660); teachers down 8% (38 to 35).
About Joseph H. Saunders Elementary
Joseph H. Saunders Elementary is a public mid-sized elementary school in Newport News, Virginia. The school covers pre-K through 5 and reported 660 students in 2024-25. On average, elementary schools in Virginia enroll around 499, and this school is 32% above that mark.
Joseph H. Saunders Elementary is in Newport News City Public Schools, a district with 25,882 students across 40 schools.
The largest racial or ethnic group at Joseph H. Saunders Elementary is Black, with 48% of students. Other groups make up 28% Hispanic, 15% White, and 7% multiracial. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 66%.
Joseph H. Saunders Elementary has a student-to-teacher ratio of 18.9:1, with 35 full-time-equivalent teachers. Compared with the 13.8:1 average for elementary schools in Virginia, this school's ratio is higher.
On the allk12 Grade, Joseph H. Saunders Elementary lands at D, ahead of 13% of Virginia public elementary schools.
Joseph H. Saunders Elementary's average proficiency rate across its state test results of 49.4% is 11.3 points below the 60.6% the model predicts from its lunch-eligibility share.
For the population of Newport News city, median household income comes to about $69,634, 31% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 11% of people live in poverty. Newport News city's 48 public schools enroll about 25,882 students and include Joseph H. Saunders Elementary.
Watkins Early Childhood Center is about 0.8 miles away, making it the nearest public school. Other public schools within five miles number at least 8. Ranked by average proficiency, Joseph H. Saunders Elementary places 8th out of 8 schools in its immediate area.
Joseph H. Saunders Elementary has an NCES locale of City: Mid-size.
Enrollment was 660 in 2024-25. In 2020-21, it was 634. Its ratio of students to teachers was 16.3:1 in 2020-21, and 18.9:1 in 2024-25.
This page collects posts and questions about Joseph H. Saunders Elementary, such as fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Newport News city at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
184,216
Census ACS
Median income
$69,634
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
31%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
48
25,882 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Newport News City Public Schools
- Woodside HighHigh · 1,723 students
- Menchville HighHigh · 1,707 students
- Warwick HighHigh · 1,622 students
- Denbigh HighHigh · 1,269 students
- Heritage HighHigh · 1,106 students
- Ethel M. Gildersleeve MiddleMiddle · 1,087 students
Other schools in Newport News
- Woodside HighHigh · 1,723 students
- Menchville HighHigh · 1,707 students
- Warwick HighHigh · 1,622 students
- Denbigh HighHigh · 1,269 students
- Heritage HighHigh · 1,106 students
- Ethel M. Gildersleeve MiddleMiddle · 1,087 students
Nearby schools
- Watkins Early Childhood Center0.8 mi · 326
- Deer Park Elementary1.5 mi · 433
- Coventry Elementary1.6 mi · 630
- Bethel Manor Elementary1.8 mi · 631
- Tabb Elementary2.2 mi · 707
- L.F. Palmer Elementary2.4 mi · 465
Frequently asked questions
About Joseph H. Saunders ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at Joseph H. Saunders Elementary?
Joseph H. Saunders Elementary enrolls approximately 660 students in grades PK-05.
Is Joseph H. Saunders Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
Joseph H. Saunders Elementary is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
How many teachers does Joseph H. Saunders Elementary have?
Joseph H. Saunders Elementary employs 35 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 18.9:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Joseph H. Saunders Elementary?
At Joseph H. Saunders Elementary, the student body is approximately 15% White, 28% Hispanic, 48% Black, 2% Asian, 7% Two or more.
Who oversees Joseph H. Saunders Elementary?
Joseph H. Saunders Elementary is overseen by Newport News City Public Schools in Newport News city.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.