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If you had an hour of school board time for Thomas C. McSwain Elementary, what would you bring up?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
449
Elementary
DISTRICT 336 · STATE 499
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·STAUNTON CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 510369001608
Thomas C. McSwain Elementary
1101 N Coalter St, Staunton, VA 24401 · (540) 332-3936 · Staunton city
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL449 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
14.5:1
31 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.3:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
85%
381 students
DISTRICT 85% · 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
Student demographics
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Based on grade levels within Staunton City Public Schools. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
SOL 2024-25 . % PassingEnglish Language Arts
84.0%
VA avg 74.2% . -4.0pp since 2022
Math
90.0%
VA avg 72.7% . +4.0pp since 2022
What this means: On the SOL, Virginia's statewide test, about 84 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 90 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Virginia schools, those numbers are about 74 and 73. Reading and writing scores are down about 4 points since 2022, while math scores are up about 4 points.
Source: SOL. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of VA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
88.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
65.0%
based on VA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+23.2pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 88% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 65% typical for Virginia schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 23 points, placing it in Virginia's top 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
449
+22 (+5%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
14.5:1
was 14.7:1
% White
70%
was 71%
% Hispanic
8%
was 4%
% Black
11%
was 13%
% Asian
1%
was 0%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
About Thomas C. McSwain Elementary
Set in Staunton, Virginia, Thomas C. McSwain Elementary is a mid-tier elementary school, one of the schools within Staunton City Public Schools. It instructs 449 students across grades K through 5.
Staunton City Public Schools comprises 6 schools with combined enrollment of 2,692 students; Thomas C. McSwain Elementary is among them.
In terms of who attends, Thomas C. McSwain Elementary logs that White students make up the majority at 70%. The remainder reads as 11% Black, 10% multiracial, 8% Hispanic. That is meaningfully less White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 79%.
In terms of school funding signals, The school lists 31 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 14.5:1. The state averages about 13.8:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Roughly 85% of students at Thomas C. McSwain Elementary qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy.
On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Thomas C. McSwain Elementary sits in the top 10% of Virginia schools after the BeatsExpectations adjustment. Predicted proficiency for the school's FRL share is roughly 65.0%; actual is 88.2%, +23.2 points clear of the demographic baseline.
In the area at large, census data for Staunton city shows median household income runs about $65,581, about 38% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 8%. Thomas C. McSwain Elementary is one of 11 public schools in Staunton city (combined enrollment of about 2,780 students).
The closest other public school is Staunton High, roughly 0.3 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Thomas C. McSwain Elementary. On composite proficiency, Thomas C. McSwain Elementary comes 1st of 5 in the immediate cluster, above the nearby-schools average of 74.3%.
Thomas C. McSwain Elementary operates from an urban location.
Trend over the last 7 years. Thomas C. McSwain Elementary's enrollment has rose 5% since 2018, when it stood at 427 (now 449).
On allk12, posts here usually surface around science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Staunton city at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
25,948
Census ACS
Median income
$65,581
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
38%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
11
2,780 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Staunton City Public Schools
- Staunton HighHigh · 766 students
- Shelburne MiddleMiddle · 583 students
- Bessie Weller ElementaryElementary · 373 students
- Arthur R. Ware ElementaryElementary · 372 students
- Staunton City School PreSchool ProgramsElementary · 149 students
Other schools in Staunton
- Staunton HighHigh · 766 students
- Riverheads ElementaryElementary · 714 students
- Beverley Manor MiddleMiddle · 612 students
- Shelburne MiddleMiddle · 583 students
- Riverheads HighHigh · 467 students
- Bessie Weller ElementaryElementary · 373 students
Nearby schools
- Staunton High0.3 mi · 766
- Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind Elementary1.0 mi · 7
- Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind Middle1.0 mi · 16
- Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind1.0 mi · 65
- Staunton City School PreSchool Programs1.8 mi · 149
- Bessie Weller Elementary1.9 mi · 373
Frequently asked questions
About Thomas C. McSwain ElementaryHow many students attend Thomas C. McSwain Elementary?
Thomas C. McSwain Elementary enrolls approximately 449 students in grades KG-05.
Is Thomas C. McSwain Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
Thomas C. McSwain Elementary is an elementary school covering grades KG-05.
How many teachers does Thomas C. McSwain Elementary have?
Thomas C. McSwain Elementary employs 31 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 14.5:1.
What is the student diversity at Thomas C. McSwain Elementary?
Student demographics at Thomas C. McSwain Elementary are roughly 70% White, 8% Hispanic, 11% Black, 1% Asian, 10% Two or more.
Who oversees Thomas C. McSwain Elementary?
Thomas C. McSwain Elementary is overseen by Staunton City Public Schools in Staunton city.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.