Watauga Elementary

As a mid-sized elementary campus in Abingdon, Virginia, Watauga Elementary instructs 581 students from grades pre-K through 5, operated by Washington County Public Schools.

Across the 16 schools in Washington County Public Schools (7,270 students total), Watauga Elementary accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Demographically, Watauga Elementary reports that the student body is overwhelmingly White (90%). Beyond that, the school lists 4% Hispanic, 3% multiracial.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 39 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 15.1:1 students per teacher. That figure is higher than the state norm's 13.8:1 average. About 75% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Watauga Elementary ranks in the top 10% of Virginia public schools. The BeatsExpectations model, a per-state regression of composite proficiency on FRL share, predicts schools with this student profile to land around 67.7%; Watauga Elementary posts 93.1%, +25.4 points above that line.

Around the school, community-level numbers for Washington County indicate the typical household earns roughly $64,552 per year, 27% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 7%. Across Washington County's 19 public schools (combined enrollment of about 7,270 students), Watauga Elementary is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: Abingdon High, around 3.4 miles off. Within five miles, there are 4 other public schools. On composite proficiency, Watauga Elementary comes 1st of 8 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 79.9%.

Geographically, the school is in an outlying area.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Watauga Elementary has grew 3%, going from 565 students in 2018 to 581 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio pulled in from 16.9:1 in 2018 to 15.1:1 today.

Inside the community feed, the feed for Watauga Elementary typically covers enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. The community welcomes input from current and former families.