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What's one community event at UNION PRIMARY more people should show up to?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
809
Elementary
DISTRICT 574 · STATE 499
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WISE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 510408001793
Union Primary
2945 Second Avenue East, Big Stone Gap, VA 24219 · (276) 523-4900 · Wise County
GRADES PK–04ELEMENTARY32-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL809 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
13.3:1
61 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.6:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
90%
729 students
DISTRICT 92% · 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
Test scores
SOL 2024-25 . % PassingEnglish Language Arts
89.0%
VA avg 74.2% . +4.0pp since 2022
Math
89.0%
VA avg 72.7% . -3.0pp since 2022
What this means: On the SOL, Virginia's statewide test, about 89 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 89 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 4 points since 2022, while math scores are down about 3 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
89.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
63.6%
based on VA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+26.3pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 90% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 64% 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 26 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
809
+23 (+3%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
13.3:1
was 17.1:1
% White
89%
was 94%
% Hispanic
1%
was 1%
% Black
4%
was 3%
% Asian
0%
was 0%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
About Union Primary
Union Primary is an elementary-level community of big scale in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, operated by Wise County Public Schools, educateing 809 students in grades pre-K through 4. Enrollment runs roughly 62% bigger than the state mean of about 499.
Union Primary is one of 11 schools operated by Wise County Public Schools, a district that hosts 5,779 students overall.
Looking at the student body, Union Primary records that nearly all students (89%) are White. The remainder breaks down as 6% multiracial, 4% Black. Compared to Wise County overall, the school's racial mix sits in roughly the same range.
In terms of school funding signals, Union Primary records 61 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 13.3:1. The state averages about 13.8:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Roughly 90% of students at Union Primary qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.
After controlling for student poverty, Union Primary sits in the top 10% of Virginia schools after the BeatsExpectations adjustment. Predicted proficiency for the school's FRL share is roughly 63.6%; actual is 89.8%, +26.3 points clear of the demographic baseline.
In the broader community, the surrounding county (Wise County) logs that median household earnings sit near $52,943, 16% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 13%. Across Wise County's 14 public schools (combined enrollment of about 5,779 students), Union Primary is one campus in the mix.
Nearest neighbor: Union Middle, around 0.2 miles off. Within five miles, there are 2 other public schools. On composite proficiency, Union Primary comes 1st of 9 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 80.2%.
The school occupies a town-based site.
Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Union Primary has increased 3%, going from 786 students in 2018 to 809 in 2025. The White share of enrollment edged down from 94% to 89% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio tightened from 17.1:1 in 2018 to 13.3:1 today.
On the community side, members of the Union Primary community share and discuss science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Wise County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
35,448
Census ACS
Median income
$52,943
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
16%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
13%
Below federal line
Schools in county
14
5,779 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Wise County Public Schools
- Central HighHigh · 676 students
- Wise PrimaryElementary · 603 students
- Union HighHigh · 564 students
- Union MiddleMiddle · 561 students
- J.W. Adams CombinedElementary · 523 students
- St. Paul ElementaryElementary · 514 students
Other schools in Big Stone Gap
- Union HighHigh · 564 students
- Union MiddleMiddle · 561 students
Nearby schools
- Union Middle0.2 mi · 561
- Union High0.3 mi · 564
- J.I. Burton High6.6 mi · 328
- Norton Elementary7.5 mi · 527
- Central High9.2 mi · 676
- Rye Cove High10.6 mi · 292
Frequently asked questions
About Union PrimaryWhat is the total enrollment at Union Primary?
Union Primary enrolls approximately 809 students in grades PK-04.
Is Union Primary an elementary, middle, or high school?
Union Primary is an elementary school covering grades PK-04.
How many teachers does Union Primary have?
Union Primary employs 61 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 13.3:1.
How diverse is Union Primary?
Union Primary reports a student body of 89% White, 1% Hispanic, 4% Black, 0% Asian, 6% Two or more.
Who oversees Union Primary?
Union Primary is overseen by Wise County Public Schools in Wise County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.