Simonsdale Elementary

Set in Portsmouth, Virginia, Simonsdale Elementary is a middle-of-the-pack K-5 school, operated by Portsmouth City Public Schools. It serves 613 students across grades K through 6. Compared to the state average of about 499 students per school, that is 23% above typical.

Across the 22 schools in Portsmouth City Public Schools (12,905 students total), Simonsdale Elementary accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Simonsdale Elementary logs that the largest single group is Black at 42%, but no single group is in the majority. The remainder comes out to 41% White, 9% multiracial, 8% Hispanic. The wider county runs roughly 51% Black, putting the school's mix noticeably less Black than the area baseline.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Simonsdale Elementary lists 40 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 15.3:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.8:1, putting Simonsdale Elementary higher than the state norm the norm. About 100% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Simonsdale Elementary performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 61.0%, the actual is 57.3%, a residual of -3.8 points.

In the surrounding community, ACS estimates for Portsmouth city put the typical household earns roughly $60,491 per year, roughly 24% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 14% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Portsmouth city's 24 public schools (combined enrollment of about 12,905 students), Simonsdale Elementary is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Olive Branch Preschool Center, roughly 0.9 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 7 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Simonsdale Elementary ranks 2nd on composite proficiency, above the local average of 44.1%.

Simonsdale Elementary operates from an inner-city location.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count contracted 11%: 687 students in 2018 compared to 613 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 59% to 41% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 16.4:1 in 2018 to 15.3:1 today.

Within the allk12 community for this school, the feed for Simonsdale Elementary typically covers science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.