1
What's the one class at VERNON JOHNS MIDDLE every student should take?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
949
Middle
DISTRICT 655 · STATE 750
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PETERSBURG CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 510291002794
Vernon Johns Middle
3101 Homestead Drive, Petersburg, VA 23805 · (804) 862-7020 · Petersburg city
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL949 STUDENTS
F
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 1% of Virginia public middle schools
- FTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- FBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Virginia public middle schools
Student : Teacher
15.6:1
61 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.3:1 · STATE 13.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
92%
877 students
DISTRICT 93% · STATE 66%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 315 | 33% |
| Grade 7 | 297 | 31% |
| Grade 8 | 337 | 36% |
Student demographics
30%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 32% · 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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Vernon Johns Middle→Petersburg High
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Petersburg City Public Schools. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
SOL 2024-25 . % PassingEnglish Language Arts
37.0%
VA avg 74.2% . -4.0pp since 2022
Math
27.0%
VA avg 72.7% . -1.0pp since 2022
What this means: On the SOL, Virginia's statewide test, about 37 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 27 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 down about 1 points.
SOL results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 37.0% | 27.0% |
| 2023-24 | 42.0% | 27.0% |
| 2022-23 | 41.0% | 28.0% |
% Passing, all students and all tested grades.
Source: SOL. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of VA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
36.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
62.9%
based on VA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-26.4pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 37% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 63% typical for Virginia schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
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 Vernon Johns Middle
Vernon Johns Middle's state test result (36.5% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vernon Johns Middle this school | 949 | 92.4% | 36.5% |
| John Rolfe Middle Richmond | 874 | 89.1% | 33.8% |
| Fairfield Middle Richmond | 936 | 91.0% | 44.0% |
| Crittenden Middle Newport News | 781 | 98.3% | 50.0% |
| Westwood Middle Danville | 642 | 92.2% | 55.0% |
| Norview Middle Norfolk | 1,196 | 88.9% | 47.3% |
Matched among Virginia middle 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 Vernon Johns Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Virginia |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 36.5% | #331 of 337 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 27.0% | #340 of 342 ▼ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 37.0% | #341 of 342 ▼ 7 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 949 | #97 of 343 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.6:1 | #289 of 327 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 30.0% | #300 of 333 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 92.4% | #76 of 340 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +31.3% | #9 of 99 |
Ranked against other public middle 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
949
+58 (+7%) vs 2020
+73% since 2010-11, when it was 548
Student : Teacher
15.6:1
was 15.1:1
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 | 949 | 61 | 15.6:1 | 92% (877) |
| 2023-24 | 901 | 59.3 | 15.2:1 | N/A |
| 2022-23 | 921 | 64.5 | 14.3:1 | 99% (909) |
| 2020-21 | 891 | 59 | 15.1:1 | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 723 | 56 | 12.9:1 | 100% (720) |
| 2015-16 | 518 | 38 | 13.6:1 | 99% (515) |
| 2010-11 | 548 | 39 | 14.1:1 | 76% (416) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Vernon Johns Middle.
Since 2017-18: students up 31% (723 to 949); teachers up 9% (56 to 61).
About Vernon Johns Middle
Vernon Johns Middle is a public mid-sized middle school in Petersburg, Virginia. The school counted 949 students in 2024-25, covering grades 6 through 8. It has 27% more students than the average for middle schools in Virginia (about 750).
The district for Vernon Johns Middle is Petersburg City Public Schools, with 7 schools and 4,582 students.
The share of Black students at Vernon Johns Middle is 83%. Other groups make up 11% Hispanic and 5% White. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, Vernon Johns Middle scores 30%.
For every teacher at Vernon Johns Middle, there are about 15.6 students; the school has 61 full-time-equivalent teachers. Compared with the 13.1:1 average for middle schools in Virginia, this school's ratio is higher. The eligibility rate for free or reduced-price meals is 92%. The figure for public schools in Petersburg city is close, at 92%.
Vernon Johns Middle earns an F on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 1% of Virginia public middle schools.
BeatsExpectations places Vernon Johns Middle in the bottom 10% of Virginia schools. The measure fits a line through proficiency and free or reduced-price lunch share for each state, and this school sits 26.4 points below it (36.5% actual, 62.9% predicted).
American Community Survey estimates for Petersburg city show that the median household earns about $50,698 a year, about 25% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 20% of residents are in poverty. Petersburg city has 9 public schools with about 4,582 students, including Vernon Johns Middle.
Petersburg High sits about 0.2 miles from Vernon Johns Middle. Vernon Johns Middle has at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Nearby schools with test data average 42.9% proficiency; Vernon Johns Middle posts 36.5%.
Locale data from NCES put Vernon Johns Middle in rural territory close to an urban area (Rural: Fringe).
Federal enrollment counts rose from 891 (2020-21) to 949 (2024-25).
On allk12, people connected to Vernon Johns Middle can post about pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Petersburg city at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
33,537
Census ACS
Median income
$50,698
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
25%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
20%
Below federal line
Schools in county
9
4,582 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Petersburg City Public Schools
- Petersburg HighHigh · 1,215 students
- Walnut Hill ElementaryElementary · 574 students
- Cool Spring ElementaryElementary · 540 students
- Pleasants Lane ElementaryElementary · 493 students
- Westview Early Childhood Education CenterElementary · 418 students
- Lakemont ElementaryElementary · 393 students
Other schools in Petersburg
- Petersburg HighHigh · 1,215 students
- Walnut Hill ElementaryElementary · 574 students
- Cool Spring ElementaryElementary · 540 students
- Pleasants Lane ElementaryElementary · 493 students
- Westview Early Childhood Education CenterElementary · 418 students
- Lakemont ElementaryElementary · 393 students
Nearby schools
- Petersburg High0.2 mi · 1,215
- Walnut Hill Elementary1.2 mi · 574
- Cool Spring Elementary1.7 mi · 540
- Westview Early Childhood Education Center2.3 mi · 418
- Pleasants Lane Elementary2.7 mi · 493
- Lakemont Elementary3.5 mi · 393
Frequently asked questions
About Vernon Johns MiddleHow many students attend Vernon Johns Middle?
Vernon Johns Middle enrolls approximately 949 students in grades 06-08.
Is Vernon Johns Middle an elementary, middle, or high school?
Vernon Johns Middle is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
How many teachers does Vernon Johns Middle have?
Vernon Johns Middle employs 61 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 15.6:1.
How diverse is Vernon Johns Middle?
Vernon Johns Middle reports a student body of 5% White, 11% Hispanic, 83% Black, 0% Asian, 0% Two or more.
Who oversees Vernon Johns Middle?
Vernon Johns Middle is overseen by Petersburg City Public Schools in Petersburg city.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.