Summary:
Fries, Virginia is served by a single school, Fries Elementary, which is part of Grayson County Public Schools and serves students in grades PK through 7, making it an elementary school that also covers traditional middle-school grade levels. With 231 students and a free/reduced lunch rate near 96%, this is a small, high-poverty rural school, yet it maintains some notable academic strengths. The district itself ranks 37th out of 131 Virginia districts (72nd percentile, 4 stars), while Fries Elementary currently holds a 2-star rating and ranks in the 34th percentile statewide.
Math is a clear relative strength at Fries Elementary. In 2025-2026, the school outperformed the Virginia state average in 4 of 5 math grade-level tests, including a standout 7th grade performance (66.67% proficient vs. 51.11% statewide) and a strong 6th grade showing (71.88% vs. 63.19%). The 6th grade also excelled in reading, with 78.13% proficient vs. 73.00% statewide. However, reading in the lower grades is a concern: 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade reading all fell well below state averages, with gaps of 11 to 15 percentage points. Year-over-year, the school saw large declines in 5th grade math (-21.88 points), 5th grade reading (-15.83), and 4th grade reading (-15.00), although small cohorts of roughly 20-40 students per grade make these swings less reliable.
The school's overall state rank dropped from the 57th percentile (3 stars) in 2024-2025 to the 34th percentile (2 stars) in 2025-2026, and its unweighted average proficiency fell from about 4.8 points above the state average to about 2.8 points below it. Despite this, non-academic indicators are encouraging: chronic absenteeism is 12.1% (below the state's 14.8%), the student-teacher ratio is a low 9:1, and per-student spending reaches $13,383. For parents, the picture is mixed: strong math instruction and a bright 6th grade cohort provide building blocks, while early-grade reading and recent declines are worth watching closely.
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