Union Mill Elementary

Union Mill Elementary, a large elementary campus in Clifton, Virginia, run under Fairfax County Public Schools, serves 874 students, covering grades pre-K through 6. That puts it 75% above the typical public school in Virginia, which averages around 499 students.

Across the 199 schools in Fairfax County Public Schools (179,323 students total), Union Mill Elementary accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

In terms of who attends, Union Mill Elementary records that White students make up the majority at 59%. Other groups include 16% Asian, 11% Hispanic, 9% multiracial, 5% Black. By comparison, Fairfax County as a whole is about 49% White, so the school skews visibly more White than its surroundings.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 55 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 15.9:1 students per teacher. That figure is higher than the state norm's 13.8:1 average. An estimated 12% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. That share is south of Fairfax County's rate of about 37%.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Union Mill Elementary performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 84.7%, the actual is 82.0%, a residual of -2.7 points.

In the broader community, community-level numbers for Fairfax County indicate median household income runs about $153,637, 65% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 4%. In all, Fairfax County runs 222 public schools (combined enrollment of about 174,475 students), of which Union Mill Elementary is one.

Nearest neighbor: Centreville High, around 0.5 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Union Mill Elementary. On composite proficiency, Union Mill Elementary comes 4th of 8 in the immediate cluster, ahead of the nearby-schools average of 76.6%.

Geographically, the school is in a commuter-belt area.

Over the past 7-year window. Union Mill Elementary's enrollment has declined 9% since 2018, when it stood at 959 (now 874). Class-load math has pulled in: from 18.2:1 in 2018 to 15.9:1 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, members of the Union Mill Elementary community share and discuss science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.