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Virginia Palmer Elementary

Q: Is Virginia Palmer Elementary a good school?

Virginia Palmer Elementary ranks 251 st of 379 Nevada elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-5

251^st

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 379 Nevada Elementary Schools

Better than 34% of Nevada elementary schools

Summary

Virginia Palmer Elementary is a public elementary school located in Sparks, Nevada, serving 408 students in grades PK-5. The school is part of the Washoe County School District, which is ranked 4 out of 12 in the state and has a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Despite its relatively high per-student spending, ranging from $10,045 to $12,230 over the past few years, and a low student-teacher ratio of 15.6 to 16, Virginia Palmer Elementary faces significant challenges. The school has consistently high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 16.6% to 28.1%, which are significantly higher than the state and district averages. Academically, the school's performance, as measured by SBAC test scores, is consistently below the Washoe County and Nevada state averages in both mathematics and reading. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, the school's proficiency rates were 30.7% in mathematics and 38% in reading, compared to the district's 36.4% and 44.5%, respectively.

When comparing Virginia Palmer Elementary to nearby schools in the Washoe County district, it performs significantly worse. For instance, Florence Drake Elementary, which is just 3.58 miles away, consistently ranks among the top 10% of Nevada elementary schools and outperforms Virginia Palmer Elementary across all academic measures. This suggests that the underlying factors contributing to Virginia Palmer Elementary's challenges, such as the high-poverty student population, should be a priority for the school and district leadership.

419

Students ?

15.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$12,230

Per pupil spending ?

100%

Free/discounted lunch ?

5890 Klondike
Sparks, NV 89433

(775) 674-4400

District: Washoe County

Students who attend Virginia Palmer Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Sparks Middle School
High:	Spanish Springs High School

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

72.3%

White:

20.5%

Two or more races:

2.4%

See top rated Nevada elementary schools

Compare Virginia Palmer Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 56th percentile in 2014 → 34th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Nevada average (34% vs 41% meeting standards)

!Ranking has slipped — down 22 percentile points since 2014

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school34%

District avg40%

Nevada avg41%

251^st of 379

Nevada public elementary schools ?

Bottom 34%▼ down 5 pts since 2016

From bottom 39% (2016) to bottom 34% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Nevada Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

45^th of 62Elementary Schools in the Washoe County

4^th of 12Washoe County among Nevada districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Nevada percentile	Rating
2025	29.3	251 of 379	33.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	37.3	210 of 377	44.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	26.7	266 of 384	30.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	25.3	267 of 380	29.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	18.2	273 of 324	15.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	35.5	243 of 388	37.4%	★★☆☆☆
2018	26.9	252 of 341	26.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	23.1	273 of 351	22.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	34.9	211 of 347	39.2%	★★☆☆☆
2014	55.7	146 of 332	56.0%	★★★☆☆
2013	59.6	135 of 330	59.1%	★★★☆☆
2012	36.0	207 of 328	36.9%	★★☆☆☆
2011	34.5	205 of 318	35.5%	★★☆☆☆
2010	35.9	186 of 300	38.0%	★★☆☆☆
2009	22.5	225 of 292	22.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	26.4	209 of 294	28.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	17.8	201 of 246	18.3%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Nevada percentile	Rating
2018	44.3	112 of 213	47.4%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Nevada percentile	Rating
2018	24.6	263 of 330	20.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Nevada percentile	Rating
2018	33.1	218 of 308	29.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Nevada percentile	Rating
2018	23.2	273 of 321	15.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Nevada percentile	Rating
2018	30.1	239 of 332	28.0%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Nevada percentile	Rating
2018	27.2	199 of 247	19.4%	★☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

English Language Learner (2018)47th percentile+21 vs school

Hispanic (2018)29th percentile+3 vs school

Male (2018)28th percentile~ school

Female (2018)20th percentile-6 vs school

White (2018)19th percentile-7 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2018)15th percentile-11 vs school

By subject vs Nevada (2024-2025) ?

Reading38%-8 vs state

Mathematics31%-5 vs state

★

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Schools Near Virginia Palmer Elementary

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				SBAC Mathematics (2025)				SBAC Reading (2025)				SBAC Science (2025)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2022)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	SBAC Mathematics 3rd Grade	SBAC Mathematics 4th Grade	SBAC Mathematics 5th Grade	SBAC Mathematics All Grades	SBAC Reading 3rd Grade	SBAC Reading 4th Grade	SBAC Reading 5th Grade	SBAC Reading All Grades	SBAC Science 5th Grade	SBAC Science All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Virginia Palmer Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	5890 Klondike	Sparks	89433	Washoe County	Washoe County	No	No	No	Yes	(775) 674-4400	419	28	15.2	100.0%	86 (20.5%)	6 (1.4%)	303 (72.3%)	5 (1.2%)	4 (1.0%)	5 (1.2%)	10 (2.4%)	29.3	251^st of 379 public elementary schools	33.8%		37.3	210^th of 377 public elementary schools	44.3%	41	30.3	37.7	26.3	30.7	24.2	40.9	46.1	38.0			$12,230	$1,536	$10,694
Esther Bennett Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	5900 Sidehill Drive	Sparks	89433	Washoe County	Washoe County	No	No	No	Yes	(775) 674-4444	529	34	15.4	99.8%	106 (20.0%)	3 (0.6%)	386 (73.0%)	6 (1.1%)	5 (0.9%)	8 (1.5%)	15 (2.8%)	20.5	296^th of 379 public elementary schools	21.9%		11	351^st of 377 public elementary schools	6.9%	55	30.5	27.2	23.1	26.9	27.3	34.0	39.3	33.5			$13,688	$1,577	$12,111
Sun Valley Elementary	Public	K-5	5490 Leon Drive	Sparks	89433	Washoe County	Washoe County	No	No	No	Yes	(775) 674-4420	520	30	17.3	100.0%	63 (12.1%)	2 (0.4%)	415 (79.8%)	3 (0.6%)	1 (0.2%)	19 (3.7%)	17 (3.3%)	17.2	319^th of 379 public elementary schools	15.8%		13	343^rd of 377 public elementary schools	9.0%	24	31.2	29.8	15.4	25.3	33.3	28.7	29.8	30.7			$11,283	$1,332	$9,950
John Bohach Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1100 Windmill Farms Pkwy	Sparks	89436	Washoe County	Washoe County	No	No	No	No	(775) 626-0062	686	32	21.1	26.4%	295 (43.0%)	23 (3.4%)	225 (32.8%)	65 (9.5%)	4 (0.6%)	9 (1.3%)	65 (9.5%)	78	70^th of 379 public elementary schools	81.5%		78.7	61^st of 377 public elementary schools	83.8%	9	58.0	58.2	49.2	55.1	58.0	58.2	61.6	59.3	40.6	40.6	$8,357	$455	$7,902
Miguel Sepulveda Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	5075 Ion Drive	Sparks	89436	Washoe County	Washoe County	No	No	No	No	(775) 626-5257	532	29	18.3		216 (40.6%)	23 (4.3%)	202 (38.0%)	23 (4.3%)	5 (0.9%)	14 (2.6%)	49 (9.2%)	49.7	170^th of 379 public elementary schools	55.1%		45.3	172^nd of 377 public elementary schools	54.4%	2	50.6	45.0	37.8	43.9	50.6	40.0	52.4	48.1	20.3	20.3	$10,200	$503	$9,697
Lois Allen Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	5155 McGuffey Road	Sparks	89433	Washoe County	Washoe County	No	No	No	Yes	(775) 674-4430	478	27	17.7	100.0%	79 (16.5%)	20 (4.2%)	346 (72.4%)	5 (1.0%)	3 (0.6%)	12 (2.5%)	13 (2.7%)	6.8	373^rd of 379 public elementary schools	1.6%		8.3	367^th of 377 public elementary schools	2.7%	6	23.7			16.2	18.7	20.0	20.0	19.5			$11,625	$1,634	$9,991
Jesse Hall Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	185 Shelby Drive	Sparks	89436	Washoe County	Washoe County	No	No	No	No	(775) 425-7755	480	23	20.8	38.5%	283 (59.0%)	4 (0.8%)	113 (23.5%)	4 (0.8%)	46 (9.6%)	1 (0.2%)	29 (6.0%)	56.8	140^th of 379 public elementary schools	63.1%		56.3	138^th of 377 public elementary schools	63.4%	2	55.0	52.6	43.8	50.5	51.6	50.5	50.5	50.9	14.6	14.6	$10,088	$595	$9,493
Lena Juniper Elementary	Public	K-5	225 Queen Way	Sparks	89431	Washoe County	Washoe County	No	No	No	No	(775) 353-5540	372	25	14.8	100.0%	140 (37.6%)	6 (1.6%)	185 (49.7%)	4 (1.1%)	2 (0.5%)	6 (1.6%)	29 (7.8%)	48.3	173^rd of 379 public elementary schools	54.4%		44.4	180^th of 377 public elementary schools	52.3%	7	54.7	40.4	28.5	41.5	46.5	53.1	41.4	46.3			$10,550	$949	$9,602
Bud Beasley Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2100 Canyon Parkway	Sparks	89436	Washoe County	Washoe County	No	No	No	No	(775) 626-5250	571	31	18.3	31.2%	321 (56.2%)	9 (1.6%)	167 (29.2%)	23 (4.0%)	3 (0.5%)	3 (0.5%)	45 (7.9%)	75.1	82^nd of 379 public elementary schools	78.4%		76.5	70^th of 377 public elementary schools	81.4%	12	60.5	54.9	48.3	54.8	57.6	67.6	53.1	59.6	34.0	34.0	$10,515	$678	$9,837
Florence Drake Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2755 Fourth Street	Sparks	89431	Washoe County	Washoe County	No	No	No	Yes	(775) 353-5510	254	14	18.0	100.0%	83 (32.7%)	2 (0.8%)	131 (51.6%)	15 (5.9%)	2 (0.8%)	6 (2.4%)	15 (5.9%)	87.4	39^th of 379 public elementary schools	89.7%		89.5	29^th of 377 public elementary schools	92.3%	10	74.0	67.3	57.7	66.8	64.8	65.2	64.4	64.8	37.7	37.7	$14,601	$1,412	$13,189

Frequently Asked Questions about Virginia Palmer Elementary

Is Virginia Palmer Elementary a good school?

Virginia Palmer Elementary ranks 251^st of 379 Nevada elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Virginia Palmer Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 419 students attended Virginia Palmer Elementary.

What district is Virginia Palmer Elementary in?

Washoe County

What is the racial makeup of Virginia Palmer Elementary?

Students at Virginia Palmer Elementary are 72% Hispanic, 21% White, 2% Two or more races, 1% African American, 1% Asian, 1% Pacific Islander.

What schools do graduates of Virginia Palmer Elementary attend?

Students who attend Virginia Palmer Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Sparks Middle School
High : Spanish Springs High School

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Nevada Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.