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What do you wish you knew before starting at Thomas Jefferson Elementary?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
567
Elementary
DISTRICT 318 · STATE 499
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BEDFORD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 510036002525
Thomas Jefferson Elementary
1255 Patriot Place, Forest, VA 24551 · (434) 534-6159 · Bedford County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY41-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL567 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
16.1:1
35 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.8:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
25%
139 students
DISTRICT 66% · 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 | 40 | 7% |
| Kindergarten | 90 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 99 | 17% |
| Grade 2 | 85 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 89 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 73 | 13% |
| Grade 5 | 91 | 16% |
This year's kindergarten class (90) is about the same size as its 5th grade class (91).
Student demographics
47%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 38% · 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
86.0%
VA avg 74.2% . +3.0pp since 2022
Math
90.0%
VA avg 72.7% . +5.0pp since 2022
What this means: On the SOL, Virginia's statewide test, about 86 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 up about 3 points since 2022, while math scores are up about 5 points.
SOL results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 86.0% | 90.0% |
| 2023-24 | 84.0% | 89.0% |
| 2022-23 | 83.0% | 85.0% |
% Passing, all students and all tested grades.
Source: SOL. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
85.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
81.4%
based on VA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+4.0pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 85% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 81% typical for Virginia schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Virginia's top nor bottom 10%.
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 Thomas Jefferson Elementary
Thomas Jefferson Elementary's state test result (85.4% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Jefferson Elementary this school | 567 | 24.5% | 85.4% |
| Trantwood Elementary Virginia Beach | 561 | 23.2% | 86.8% |
| Pole Green Elementary Mechanicsville | 527 | 20.9% | 86.0% |
| Cave Spring Elementary Roanoke | 489 | 23.1% | 88.6% |
| Great Bridge Primary Chesapeake | 610 | 21.5% | N/A |
| Robious Elementary Midlothian | 660 | 23.8% | 82.9% |
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 Thomas Jefferson Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Virginia | In Bedford County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 85.4% | #161 of 1,101 | #3 of 12 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 90.0% | #103 of 1,111 ▼ 11 | #2 of 12 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 86.0% | #158 of 1,111 ▲ 35 | #3 of 12 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 567 | #432 of 1,176 | #1 of 13 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.1:1 | #937 of 1,105 | #9 of 11 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 47.1% | #814 of 1,106 | #4 of 11 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 24.5% | #981 of 1,157 | #12 of 13 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -6.1% | #584 of 759 | #6 of 7 |
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
567
+204 (+56%) vs 2020
-4% since 2000-01, when it was 591
Student : Teacher
16.1:1
was 14.5:1
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 | 567 | 35.2 | 16.1:1 | 25% (139) |
| 2023-24 | 540 | 34 | 15.9:1 | 28% (152) |
| 2022-23 | 510 | 34 | 15.0:1 | 27% (140) |
| 2020-21 | 363 | 25 | 14.5:1 | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 604 | 36.3 | 16.6:1 | 23% (138) |
| 2015-16 | 576 | 33 | 17.4:1 | 20% (118) |
| 2010-11 | 617 | 35 | 17.6:1 | 19% (116) |
| 2000-01 | 591 | 35 | 16.9:1 | 32% (190) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Thomas Jefferson Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 6% (604 to 567); teachers down 3% (36.3 to 35.2).
About Thomas Jefferson Elementary
In Forest, Virginia, part of Bedford County, Thomas Jefferson Elementary is an elementary school. The latest federal count shows 567 students in pre-K through 5.
Bedford County Public Schools (19 schools, 8,930 students) runs Thomas Jefferson Elementary.
Thomas Jefferson Elementary's enrollment is 71% White. The remaining shares are 9% Hispanic, 8% multiracial, 7% Black, and 5% Asian. Census estimates put the White share of Bedford County's population at about 86%. The chance that two students picked at random at Thomas Jefferson Elementary belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 47%.
The school reported 35.2 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25 and a ratio of 16.1:1. The 13.8:1 average for elementary schools in Virginia is lower than this school's figure. Eligible students account for 25% of enrollment in the free or reduced-price lunch program. The average for public schools in Bedford County is 59%.
Compared with Virginia schools that have similar shares of low-income students, Thomas Jefferson Elementary's results are 4.0 points above predicted: 85.4% against 81.4%.
Thomas Jefferson Elementary is located in Bedford County, where median household income is about $78,937, 34% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 5% of people live in poverty. Federal data list 22 public schools in Bedford County, with a combined enrollment of about 8,930.
Nearby, Forest Middle is about 1.5 miles away. Thomas Jefferson Elementary is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. Thomas Jefferson Elementary's average proficiency of 85.4% compares with 78.9% for its nearest scored neighbors.
Thomas Jefferson Elementary is in rural territory close to an urban area, a location NCES labels Rural: Fringe.
Enrollment records show 363 in 2020-21 and 567 in 2024-25. Because schools sometimes add or drop grades, the two numbers may not be directly comparable. The ratio of students to teachers went from 14.5:1 to 16.1:1 over the same years.
The Thomas Jefferson Elementary community page is open for posts about school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Bedford County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
80,894
Census ACS
Median income
$78,937
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
34%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
22
8,930 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Bedford County Public Schools
- Jefferson Forest HighHigh · 1,282 students
- Forest MiddleMiddle · 854 students
- Staunton River HighHigh · 816 students
- Liberty HighHigh · 708 students
- Staunton River MiddleMiddle · 612 students
- Liberty MiddleMiddle · 518 students
Other schools in Forest
- Jefferson Forest HighHigh · 1,282 students
- Forest MiddleMiddle · 854 students
- Forest ElementaryElementary · 384 students
- New London Academy ElementaryElementary · 330 students
Other Thomas Jefferson Elementary schools
27 other US public schools in 15 states are named Thomas Jefferson Elementary. Thomas Jefferson Elementary is the 7th largest of the 28.
- Thomas Jefferson ElementaryLouisa, VA · 672 students
- Thomas Jefferson ElementaryGlendale, CA · 815 students
- Thomas Jefferson ElementaryBurbank, CA · 758 students
- Thomas Jefferson Elementary SchoolJoliet, IL · 646 students
- Thomas Jefferson Elementary SchoolTulsa, OK · 574 students
Nearby schools
- Forest Middle1.5 mi · 854
- Jefferson Forest High1.6 mi · 1,282
- Forest Elementary1.7 mi · 384
- Brookville Middle2.8 mi · 648
- Tomahawk Elementary2.9 mi · 667
- Brookville High3.0 mi · 1,017
Frequently asked questions
About Thomas Jefferson ElementaryHow large is Thomas Jefferson Elementary?
Thomas Jefferson Elementary enrolls approximately 567 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does Thomas Jefferson Elementary serve?
Thomas Jefferson Elementary serves grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Thomas Jefferson Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Thomas Jefferson Elementary is approximately 16.1:1 (35 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Thomas Jefferson Elementary?
Thomas Jefferson Elementary reports a student body of 71% White, 9% Hispanic, 7% Black, 5% Asian, 8% Two or more.
What district is Thomas Jefferson Elementary in?
Thomas Jefferson Elementary is part of Bedford County Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.