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What's something Richard Bowling Elementary does better than most schools?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
492
Elementary
DISTRICT 435 · STATE 499
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·NORFOLK CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 510267001083
Richard Bowling Elementary
2700 E. Princess Anne Rd., Norfolk, VA 23504 · (757) 628-2515 · Norfolk city
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL492 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 7% 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.
- DBeats 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
11.7:1
42 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.6:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
100%
491 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 85 | 17% |
| Kindergarten | 78 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 72 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 70 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 71 | 14% |
| Grade 4 | 57 | 12% |
| Grade 5 | 59 | 12% |
This year's kindergarten class (78) is 32% larger than its 5th grade class (59).
Student demographics
22%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 63% · 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
53.0%
VA avg 74.2% . +5.0pp since 2022
Math
53.0%
VA avg 72.7% . +18.0pp since 2022
What this means: On the SOL, Virginia's statewide test, about 53 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 53 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 5 points since 2022, while math scores are up about 18 points.
SOL results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 53.0% | 53.0% |
| 2023-24 | 57.0% | 45.0% |
| 2022-23 | 48.0% | 35.0% |
% Passing, all students and all tested grades.
Source: SOL. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of VA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
45.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
60.9%
based on VA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-15.7pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 45% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 61% typical for Virginia schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
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 Richard Bowling Elementary
Richard Bowling Elementary's state test result (45.3% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Bowling Elementary this school | 492 | 99.8% | 45.3% |
| Henry Marsh III Elementary Richmond | 512 | 97.7% | 34.5% |
| Brighton Elementary Portsmouth | 483 | 99.4% | 41.3% |
| Jacox Elementary Norfolk | 596 | 99.3% | 32.5% |
| George W. Carver Elementary Richmond | 404 | 99.8% | 18.9% |
| Cool Spring Elementary Petersburg | 540 | 94.3% | 29.9% |
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 Richard Bowling Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Virginia | In Norfolk city |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 45.3% | #1,027 of 1,101 | #23 of 29 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 53.0% | #993 of 1,111 ▲ 21 | #19 of 29 ▲ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 53.0% | #974 of 1,111 ▼ 54 | #23 of 29 ▼ 5 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 492 | #605 of 1,176 | #14 of 32 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.7:1 | #143 of 1,105 | #7 of 30 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 22.4% | #1,031 of 1,106 | #28 of 30 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 99.8% | #128 of 1,157 | #16 of 32 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -14.4% | #311 of 759 | #17 of 27 |
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
492
-9 (-2%) vs 2020
+17% since 1990-91, when it was 422
Student : Teacher
11.7:1
was 12.8:1
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 | 492 | 42 | 11.7:1 | 100% (491) |
| 2023-24 | 462 | 36 | 12.8:1 | N/A |
| 2022-23 | 465 | 37 | 12.6:1 | 97% (451) |
| 2020-21 | 501 | 39 | 12.8:1 | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 575 | 39.7 | 14.5:1 | 99% (572) |
| 2015-16 | 487 | 32 | 15.2:1 | 99% (484) |
| 2010-11 | 465 | 31 | 15.0:1 | 75% (347) |
| 2000-01 | 632 | 54 | 11.7:1 | 90% (569) |
| 1990-91 | 422 | 31 | 13.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Richard Bowling Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 14% (575 to 492); teachers up 6% (39.7 to 42).
About Richard Bowling Elementary
Richard Bowling Elementary is a medium-sized elementary school based in Norfolk, Virginia. Enrollment is 492 students in 2024-25, and the school serves pre-K through 5.
The 44 schools of Norfolk City Public Schools, including Richard Bowling Elementary, enroll 26,807 students.
Most students at Richard Bowling Elementary are Black: 88% of enrollment. The remaining students are 5% Hispanic, 3% multiracial, and 3% White. Census figures show Norfolk city is about 40% Black. By the diversity index, Richard Bowling Elementary comes in at 22%.
Federal records show a student-to-teacher ratio of 11.7:1 at Richard Bowling Elementary, with 42 full-time-equivalent teachers. The 13.8:1 average for elementary schools in Virginia is higher than this school's figure. Free and reduced-price lunch eligibility, a common measure of family income, is 100%. Across public schools in Norfolk city, the average is about the same, 98%.
Richard Bowling Elementary is graded D by allk12, scoring above 7% of Virginia public elementary schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
The school's average proficiency rate on state tests, 45.3%, is 15.7 points below the 60.9% the model predicts from its free or reduced-price lunch share. That result is in the bottom 10% of Virginia schools.
Census estimates describe Norfolk city this way: median household income is about $66,109, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 34% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 12%. Federal data list 54 public schools in Norfolk city, with a combined enrollment of about 26,807.
Jacox Elementary is located about 0.4 miles from Richard Bowling Elementary. Other public schools within five miles: at least 8. The school's 45.3% average proficiency ranks 4th among 8 nearby schools.
NCES describes the area around Richard Bowling Elementary as City: Mid-size, meaning inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
From 2020-21 to 2024-25, enrollment held near 492, starting from 501. The school's ratio fell from 12.8:1 to 11.7:1 between 2020-21 and 2024-25.
Discussions about Richard Bowling Elementary may include school safety, transportation, and start times. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Norfolk city at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
233,596
Census ACS
Median income
$66,109
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
34%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
12%
Below federal line
Schools in county
54
26,807 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Norfolk City Public Schools
- Granby HighHigh · 1,980 students
- Matthew Fontaine Maury HighHigh · 1,713 students
- Norview HighHigh · 1,585 students
- Norview MiddleMiddle · 1,196 students
- Blair MiddleMiddle · 1,141 students
- Lake Taylor HighHigh · 1,107 students
Other schools in Norfolk
- Granby HighHigh · 1,980 students
- Matthew Fontaine Maury HighHigh · 1,713 students
- Norview HighHigh · 1,585 students
- Norview MiddleMiddle · 1,196 students
- Blair MiddleMiddle · 1,141 students
- Lake Taylor HighHigh · 1,107 students
Nearby schools
- Jacox Elementary0.4 mi · 596
- Booker T Washington High0.6 mi · 904
- Chesterfield Elementary0.9 mi · 325
- Ingleside Elementary1.1 mi · 574
- Lindenwood Elementary1.1 mi · 243
- Ruffner School1.2 mi · 576
Frequently asked questions
About Richard Bowling ElementaryHow many students attend Richard Bowling Elementary?
Richard Bowling Elementary enrolls approximately 492 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Richard Bowling Elementary serve?
Richard Bowling Elementary serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many teachers does Richard Bowling Elementary have?
Richard Bowling Elementary employs 42 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 11.7:1.
How diverse is Richard Bowling Elementary?
Richard Bowling Elementary reports a student body of 3% White, 5% Hispanic, 88% Black, 0% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Who oversees Richard Bowling Elementary?
Richard Bowling Elementary is overseen by Norfolk City Public Schools in Norfolk city.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.