Atholton High

Atholton High operates as a middle-of-the-pack senior high in Columbia, Maryland, part of Howard County Public Schools. Current enrollment sits at 1,540 students spanning grades 9 through 12. Compared to the state average of about 1,185 students per school, that is 30% larger than typical.

Howard County Public Schools runs 77 schools in total, collectively educating 57,565 students. Atholton High is one of those campuses.

Demographically, Atholton High logs that the largest single group is Black at 32%, but no single group is in the majority; the rest is composed of 27% White, 19% Asian, 14% Hispanic, 8% multiracial. By comparison, Howard County as a whole is about 20% Black, so the school skews meaningfully more Black than its surroundings.

On the income-and-resources front, Staff filings list 92 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 16.7:1 students per teacher. That figure is higher than the state norm's 15.3:1 average. Around 23% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Atholton High falls in the UNDERPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations residual. Given its student profile, a typical campus would land near 60.6%; this one comes in at 41.8%, -18.9 points off the demographic line.

In the surrounding community, Howard County reports that median household income runs about $149,763, about 65% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 4%. In all, Howard County runs 78 public schools (combined enrollment of about 57,565 students), of which Atholton High is one.

The closest other public school is Clemens Crossing Elementary, roughly 0.6 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Atholton High. On composite proficiency, Atholton High comes 5th of 9 in the immediate cluster, beneath the nearby-schools average of 45.7%.

The campus sits in an urban setting.

Looking at the recent track record. Atholton High's enrollment has climbed 4% since 2018, when it stood at 1,478 (now 1,540). Over the same period, the White share ticked down from 44% to 27%.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.