Richard T. Yates Elementary

Set in Newport News, Virginia, Richard T. Yates Elementary is a mid-sized elementary school, part of Newport News City Public Schools. It caters to 448 students across grades pre-K through 5.

Within Newport News City Public Schools, which oversees 40 schools and 25,882 students, Richard T. Yates Elementary is one campus in the system.

Looking at the student body, Richard T. Yates Elementary logs that the most-represented group is White (40%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. Other groups include 38% Black, 10% Hispanic, 10% multiracial, 2% Asian. That composition is broadly in line with Newport News city as a whole.

In terms of school funding signals, Staff filings list 20 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 22.4:1 students per teacher. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.8:1, putting Richard T. Yates Elementary higher than the state norm the norm. Around 98% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Richard T. Yates Elementary tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 61.5% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 64.5%.

Zooming out to the county, Newport News city reports that the typical household earns roughly $69,634 per year, about 31% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 11%. In all, Newport News city runs 48 public schools (combined enrollment of about 25,882 students), of which Richard T. Yates Elementary is one.

Ethel M. Gildersleeve Middle is the nearest neighboring public school, about 1.2 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Richard T. Yates Elementary at 3rd of 9; the average score across the group is 62.9%.

Geographically, the school is in a city-core area.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count contracted 10%: 499 students in 2018 compared to 448 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio widened from 18.5:1 in 2018 to 22.4:1 today.

Within the allk12 community for this school, recent activity here tends to focus on science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.