DuFief Elementary

DuFief Elementary, a cozy primary school in Gaithersburg, Maryland, overseen by Montgomery County Public Schools, caters to 276 students, covering grades K through 5. That puts it 43% smaller than the typical public school in Maryland, which averages around 481 students.

Across the 208 schools in Montgomery County Public Schools (159,181 students total), DuFief Elementary accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Demographically, DuFief Elementary lists that the most-represented group is White (31%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. Other groups include 28% Asian, 17% Black, 14% Hispanic, 10% multiracial. By comparison, Montgomery County as a whole is about 42% White, so the school skews meaningfully less White than its surroundings.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 26 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 10.8:1 students per teacher. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 13.8:1 average. Roughly 21% of students at DuFief Elementary qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. By comparison, Montgomery County runs at roughly 40%, so the school's eligibility rate is below the surrounding baseline.

After controlling for student poverty, DuFief Elementary tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 62.0% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 66.0%.

Around the school, census data for Montgomery County shows median household earnings sit near $132,450, 61% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 5%. DuFief Elementary is one of 211 public schools in Montgomery County (combined enrollment of about 159,181 students).

The closest other public school is Lakelands Park Middle, roughly 1.0 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. On composite proficiency, DuFief Elementary comes 5th of 9 in the immediate cluster, ahead of the nearby-schools average of 61.6%.

Geographically, the school is in an outer-ring area.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at DuFief Elementary has fell 12%, going from 313 students in 2018 to 276 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share ticked down from 42% to 31%. Class-load math has narrowed: from 12.2:1 in 2018 to 10.8:1 in 2025.

Inside the community feed, members of the DuFief Elementary community share and discuss enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. The community welcomes input from current and former families.