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SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ST. MARY'S COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 240060001732

Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary

23595 Hayden Farm Lane, Leonardtown, MD 20650 · (240) 309-4658 · St. Mary's County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY31-TOWNREGULAR SCHOOL516 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 67% of Maryland public elementary schools
  • A-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
  • C+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
  • ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.

Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Maryland public elementary schools

Enrollment
516
Elementary
DISTRICT 419 · STATE 481
Student : Teacher
14.9:1
35 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.7:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
20%
102 students
DISTRICT 43% · STATE 54%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.

Enrollment by grade, 2024-25

GradeStudentsShare
Pre-K214%
Kindergarten6312%
Grade 17314%
Grade 29017%
Grade 38817%
Grade 49318%
Grade 58817%

This year's kindergarten class (63) is 28% smaller than its 5th grade class (88).

Student demographics
46%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 60% · STATE 73% · US 70%
White
37272%
DISTRICT 59% · STATE 31% · US 43%
Hispanic
316%
DISTRICT 10% · STATE 24% · US 30%
Black
469%
DISTRICT 19% · STATE 32% · US 15%
Asian
173%
DISTRICT 2% · STATE 7% · US 6%
Two+
479%
DISTRICT 9% · STATE 5% · US 5%
Native American
20%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 0% · US 1%
Pacific Islander
10%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 0% · US 0%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Male
26652%
Female
25048%

Discussions

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Test scores

MCAP 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 3-4)
English Language Arts
68.2%
MD avg 50.6% . +9.2pp since 2023
Math
65.2%
MD avg 34.8% . +2.2pp since 2023

What this means: On the MCAP, Maryland's statewide test, about 68 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 65 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Maryland schools, those numbers are about 51 and 35. Reading and writing scores are up about 9 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 2 points.

MCAP results by year

School yearEnglish Language ArtsMath
2024-2568.2%65.2%
2023-2459.0%63.0%
% Proficient (Levels 3-4), all students and all tested grades.
Source: MCAP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →

BeatsExpectations

Demographically-adjusted score · methodology
Tier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
63.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
62.5%
based on MD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+1.3pp
above demographic expectation

What this means: About 64% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 63% typical for Maryland schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Maryland's top nor bottom 10%.

BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →

Schools most like Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary

Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary's state test result (63.9% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.

SchoolStudentsLow-incomeProficient
Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary this school51619.8%63.9%
Deer Crossing Elementary
New Market
52819.3%69.1%
Ring Factory Elementary
Bel Air
54120.5%69.8%
Plum Point Elementary
Huntingtown
56821.1%51.7%
Belvedere Elementary
Arnold
54221.6%67.1%
Mount Airy Elementary
Mount Airy
46219.7%63.9%
Matched among Maryland elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.

Where Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary ranks

Among elementary schools
MeasureThis schoolIn MarylandIn St. Mary's County
State test proficiency
ranked highest first
63.9%#171 of 853#3 of 19
Math proficiency
ranked highest first
65.2%#146 of 853
▲ 2
#4 of 19
▼ 1
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
68.2%#168 of 853
▲ 97
#2 of 19
▲ 1
Enrollment
ranked largest first
516#353 of 898#5 of 19
Students per teacher
ranked fewest first
14.9:1#574 of 857#12 of 19
Diversity index
ranked most diverse first
45.9%#571 of 857#13 of 19
Free and reduced lunch
ranked highest share first
19.8%#793 of 885#19 of 19
Enrollment change since 2017-18
ranked steepest decline first
-14.3%#243 of 551#9 of 15
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.

4-year change

SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25
Enrollment
516
-11 (-2%) vs 2020
Student : Teacher
14.9:1
was 15.5:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree and reduced lunch
2024-2551634.614.9:120% (102)
2023-2453734.515.6:118% (95)
2022-2354734.515.9:117% (94)
2020-215273415.5:116% (82)
2017-1860235.916.8:117% (101)
2015-165713317.3:116% (94)
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary.

Since 2017-18: students down 14% (602 to 516); teachers down 4% (35.9 to 34.6).

About Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary

Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary is a medium-sized elementary school in Leonardtown, Maryland. The school enrolls 516 students, from pre-K through 5.

Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary is one of the 26 schools that make up St. Mary's County Public Schools (16,905 students in total).

White students account for 72% of enrollment at Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary. Other students are 9% multiracial, 9% Black, 6% Hispanic, and 3% Asian. For comparison, St. Mary's County is about 71% White. Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary has a diversity index of 46%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.

The school reports 34.6 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to about 14.9 students per teacher. For comparison, elementary schools in Maryland average 13.8:1. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility covers 20% of students. Across public schools in St. Mary's County, the average is 41%.

Measured against Maryland public elementary schools, Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary receives a B+. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.

A school with Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary's lunch-eligibility share in Maryland is predicted to score 62.5%. Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary scores 63.9%, 1.3 points above that line.

Within St. Mary's County, median household income is about $119,446, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 37% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 6%. Federal data list 28 public schools in St. Mary's County, with a combined enrollment of about 16,905.

Of nearby public schools, Leonardtown Elementary is the closest, at about 1.2 miles. The count of other public schools within five miles is 6. Its average proficiency rate of 63.9% is above the 53.4% average for nearby schools.

The school's setting, by NCES definition, is Town: Fringe: in a town close to an urbanized area.

Over 4 years, enrollment stayed close to where it was, going from 527 to 516.

Topics for discussion here include sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.

St. Mary's County at a glance

View full county profile
Population
115,126
Census ACS
Median income
$119,446
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
37%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
28
16,905 students

Quick facts

School name
Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary
District
St. Mary's County Public Schools
Address
23595 Hayden Farm Lane, Leonardtown, MD 20650
Phone
(240) 309-4658
County
St. Mary's County
Level
Elementary
Grade range
PK–05
Total enrollment
516
Teachers (FTE)
35
Student–teacher ratio
14.9:1
Free and reduced lunch
102 (20%)
Locale
31-Town: Fringe
NCES ID
240060001732
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in St. Mary's County Public Schools
Other schools in Leonardtown
Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary
How large is Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary?
Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary enrolls approximately 516 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary serve?
Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary serves grades PK-05.
How many teachers does Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary have?
Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary employs 35 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 14.9:1.
What is the student diversity at Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary?
Student demographics at Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary are roughly 72% White, 6% Hispanic, 9% Black, 3% Asian, 9% Two or more.
Who oversees Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary?
Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary is overseen by St. Mary's County Public Schools in St. Mary's County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
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