Bel Air Elementary

Bel Air Elementary, a close-knit elementary-level community in Cumberland, Maryland, part of Allegany County Public Schools, educates 216 students, covering grades pre-K through 5. Enrollment runs roughly 55% below the state mean of about 481.

Within Allegany County Public Schools, which oversees 22 schools and 8,113 students, Bel Air Elementary is one campus in the system.

In terms of who attends, Bel Air Elementary logs that 93% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority; the rest comes out to 4% multiracial.

On the income-and-resources front, The school employs 17 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 12.7:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.8:1, putting Bel Air Elementary tighter than the state norm the norm. An estimated 48% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. By comparison, Allegany County runs at roughly 58%, so the school's eligibility rate is somewhat below the surrounding baseline.

After controlling for student poverty, Bel Air Elementary ranks in the top 10% of Maryland public schools. The BeatsExpectations model, a per-state regression of composite proficiency on FRL share, predicts schools with this student profile to land around 45.7%; Bel Air Elementary posts 59.7%, +13.9 points above that line.

In the area at large, Allegany County reports that the typical household earns roughly $59,603 per year, about 21% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 11%. Bel Air Elementary is one of 22 public schools in Allegany County (combined enrollment of about 8,113 students).

Nearest neighbor: Cresaptown Elementary, around 1.4 miles off. 7 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Bel Air Elementary at 3rd of 4; the average score across the group is 58.0%.

Geographically, the school is in a town-based area.

Trend over the last 7 years. Bel Air Elementary's enrollment has fell 9% since 2018, when it stood at 238 (now 216). The student-to-teacher ratio tightened from 15.3:1 in 2018 to 12.7:1 today.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.