Swansboro Elementary

Swansboro Elementary, a minimally staffed elementary campus in Richmond, Virginia, operated by Richmond City Public Schools, hosts 172 students, covering grades pre-K through 5. That puts it 66% smaller than the typical public school in Virginia, which averages around 499 students.

Across the 47 schools in Richmond City Public Schools (20,962 students total), Swansboro Elementary accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Demographically, Swansboro Elementary shows that 66% of the student body identifies as Black. The remainder comes out to 27% Hispanic, 4% White. By comparison, Richmond city as a whole is about 41% Black, so the school skews noticeably more Black than its surroundings.

Looking at the economic backdrop, On paper, Swansboro Elementary has 17 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 10.4:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 13.8:1 average. Around 98% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, often used as a Title I proxy.

After controlling for student poverty, On a poverty-adjusted basis, Swansboro Elementary sits in the bottom 10% statewide. Predicted proficiency from the FRL regression is roughly 61.4%; actual is 45.8%, a gap of -15.6 points.

Around the school, ACS estimates for Richmond city put median household earnings sit near $64,587, roughly 46% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 12%. Across Richmond city's 61 public schools (combined enrollment of about 20,253 students), Swansboro Elementary is one campus in the mix.

Patrick Henry School Of Science And Arts is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.4 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Swansboro Elementary. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Swansboro Elementary ranks 2nd on composite proficiency, ahead of the local average of 43.4%.

The campus sits in a city-core setting.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count declined 37%: 274 students in 2018 compared to 172 in 2025. Black enrollment moved from 89% to 66% across the same window. Class-load math has pulled in: from 15.2:1 in 2018 to 10.4:1 in 2025.

Within the allk12 community for this school, members of the Swansboro Elementary community share and discuss sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.