Ilchester Elementary

Set in Ellicott City, Maryland, Ilchester Elementary is a reasonably sized primary school, one of the schools within Howard County Public Schools. It caters to 482 students across grades pre-K through 5.

Across the 77 schools in Howard County Public Schools (57,565 students total), Ilchester Elementary accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Demographically, Ilchester Elementary logs that the largest single group is White at 44%, but no single group is in the majority; the rest comes out to 27% Asian, 12% Black, 10% multiracial, 6% Hispanic. Compared to Howard County overall, the school's racial mix sits in roughly the same range.

In terms of school funding signals, Ilchester Elementary lists 38 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 12.7:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 13.8:1 average. Around 14% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. That share is noticeably below Howard County's rate of about 27%.

After controlling for student poverty, Ilchester Elementary tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 66.1% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 72.4%.

Zooming out to the county, the surrounding county (Howard County) reports that median household earnings sit near $149,763, about 65% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 4%. In all, Howard County runs 78 public schools (combined enrollment of about 57,565 students), of which Ilchester Elementary is one.

Bonnie Branch Middle is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.1 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Ilchester Elementary at 3rd of 9; the average score across the group is 61.1%.

The school occupies a bedroom-community site.

Over the past 7-year window. Ilchester Elementary's enrollment has contracted 26% since 2018, when it stood at 654 (now 482). The White share of enrollment fell from 56% to 44% over that span. Class-load math has narrowed: from 13.9:1 in 2018 to 12.7:1 in 2025.

On this page, the feed for Ilchester Elementary typically covers enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. The community welcomes input from current and former families.