Phelps Luck Elementary

Phelps Luck Elementary is one of the middle-of-the-pack elementary campuss in Columbia, Maryland, run under Howard County Public Schools, with 681 students on its rolls from grades pre-K through 5. That puts it 42% bigger than the typical public school in Maryland, which averages around 481 students.

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

Demographically, Phelps Luck Elementary lists that the most-represented group is Hispanic (33%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. Other groups include 28% White, 24% Black, 8% Asian, 7% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 9% Hispanic, putting the school's mix visibly more Hispanic than the area baseline.

On the income-and-resources front, The school currently runs with 58 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 11.7:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 13.8:1 average. Roughly 47% of students at Phelps Luck Elementary qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. Set against Howard County (around 27%), the school's rate is north of typical.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Phelps Luck Elementary tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 46.7% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 51.8%.

In the surrounding community, ACS estimates for Howard County put median household income runs about $149,763, roughly 65% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 4%. In all, Howard County runs 78 public schools (combined enrollment of about 57,565 students), of which Phelps Luck Elementary is one.

Nearest neighbor: Howard High, around 0.4 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Phelps Luck Elementary. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Phelps Luck Elementary at 3rd of 9; the average score across the group is 45.5%.

Geographically, the school is in an urban area.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count increased 17%: 583 students in 2018 compared to 681 in 2025. Black enrollment moved from 40% to 24% across the same window. Class-load math has rose: from 9.3:1 in 2018 to 11.7:1 in 2025.

On the community side, recent activity here tends to focus on enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. The community welcomes input from current and former families.