Enrollment
243
Middle
DISTRICT 689 · STATE 764
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CHARLES COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 240027090488
Phoenix International School of the Arts
95 Catalpa Dr, La Plata, MD 20646 · (301) 202-4159 · Charles County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE31-TOWNCHARTERTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL243 STUDENTS
F
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 3% of Maryland public middle schools
- DTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- FBeats 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 middle schools
Student : Teacher
16.2:1
15 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.3:1 · STATE 14.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
42%
102 students
DISTRICT 51% · STATE 54%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 103 | 42% |
| Grade 7 | 93 | 38% |
| Grade 8 | 47 | 19% |
Student demographics
37%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 61% · STATE 73% · US 70%
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
QUIET COMMUNITY
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START A DISCUSSIONTest scores
MCAP 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 3-4)English Language Arts
27.1%
MD avg 50.6% . -10.4pp since 2023
Math
10.0%
MD avg 34.8% . +0.0pp since 2023
What this means: On the MCAP, Maryland's statewide test, about 27 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 10 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Maryland schools, those numbers are about 51 and 35. Reading and writing scores are down about 10 points since 2023, while math scores have held steady.
MCAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 27.1% | 10.0% |
| 2023-24 | 37.5% | 10.0% |
% 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 · methodologyTier
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of MD schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
21.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
49.4%
based on MD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-28.2pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 21% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 49% typical for Maryland schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
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 Phoenix International School of the Arts
Phoenix International School of the Arts's state test result (21.1% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix International School of the Arts this school | 243 | 42.0% | 21.1% |
| Harpers Choice Middle Columbia | 471 | 46.9% | 35.4% |
| Lake Elkhorn Middle Columbia | 569 | 49.0% | 29.9% |
| Windsor Mill Middle Baltimore | 606 | 61.1% | 27.7% |
| General Smallwood Middle School Indian Head | 500 | 59.8% | 24.3% |
| Oakland Mills Middle Columbia | 415 | 48.4% | 36.3% |
Matched among Maryland middle 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 Phoenix International School of the Arts ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Maryland | In Charles County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 21.1% | #197 of 223 | #8 of 9 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 10.0% | #209 of 223 ▼ 4 | #9 of 9 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 27.1% | #202 of 223 ▼ 40 | #8 of 9 ▼ 4 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 243 | #224 of 230 | #9 of 9 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.2:1 | #182 of 225 | #6 of 9 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 36.7% | #193 of 225 | #9 of 9 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 42.0% | #149 of 227 | #8 of 9 |
Ranked against other public middle 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.
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 243 | 15 | 16.2:1 | 42% (102) |
| 2023-24 | 167 | 10 | 16.7:1 | 43% (72) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Phoenix International School of the Arts.
About Phoenix International School of the Arts
Families in La Plata, Maryland, are served by Phoenix International School of the Arts, a small middle school. The latest federal count shows 243 students in grades 6 through 8. Against the 764-student average for middle schools in Maryland, enrollment here is 68% lower.
Charles County Public Schools operates 38 schools. Combined enrollment is 28,162 students.
At 79%, Black students outnumber all other groups at Phoenix International School of the Arts combined. The remaining students are 9% multiracial, 7% Hispanic, and 4% White. Among people living in Charles County, the Black share is about 49%. Phoenix International School of the Arts has a diversity index of 37%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
A ratio of 16.2:1 comes from the school's 15 full-time-equivalent teachers. The 14.3:1 average for middle schools in Maryland is lower than this school's figure. The lunch program counts 42% of students at Phoenix International School of the Arts as eligible for free or reduced-price meals.
allk12 grades Phoenix International School of the Arts an F. The grade compares the school only with Maryland public middle schools, because each state gives its own test.
BeatsExpectations places Phoenix International School of the Arts in the bottom 10% of Maryland schools. The measure fits a line through proficiency and free or reduced-price lunch share for each state, and this school sits 28.2 points below it (21.1% actual, 49.4% predicted).
Charles County census figures show that median household income is about $122,816, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 34% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 5%. A total of 40 public schools operate in Charles County, serving about 28,162 students.
The school nearest to Phoenix International School of the Arts is Milton M. Somers Middle School, at a distance of about 0.8 miles. Counting only straight-line distance, 6 other public schools are within five miles. Among the 9 closest schools with test data, this one included, Phoenix International School of the Arts ranks 9th on average proficiency.
The NCES locale for Phoenix International School of the Arts is Town: Fringe, which covers schools in a town close to an urbanized area. It is a charter school, open to the public and funded by taxpayers.
Conversations here can range across science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Charles County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
170,527
Census ACS
Median income
$122,816
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
34%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
40
28,162 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Charles County Public Schools
- North Point High SchoolHigh · 1,960 students
- St. Charles High SchoolHigh · 1,617 students
- Thomas Stone High SchoolHigh · 1,230 students
- La Plata High SchoolHigh · 1,217 students
- Westlake High SchoolHigh · 1,216 students
- Maurice J. McDonough High SchoolHigh · 1,163 students
Other schools in La Plata
- La Plata High SchoolHigh · 1,217 students
- Milton M. Somers Middle SchoolMiddle · 671 students
- Walter J. Mitchell Elementary SchoolElementary · 663 students
- Mary H. Matula Elementary SchoolElementary · 610 students
- F. B. Gwynn Educational CenterElementary
Nearby schools
- Milton M. Somers Middle School0.8 mi · 671
- Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School0.8 mi · 663
- Mary H. Matula Elementary School2.7 mi · 610
- La Plata High School2.8 mi · 1,217
- Maurice J. McDonough High School4.0 mi · 1,163
- Dr. James Craik Elementary School4.5 mi · 520
Frequently asked questions
About Phoenix International School of the ArtsWhat is the total enrollment at Phoenix International School of the Arts?
Phoenix International School of the Arts enrolls approximately 243 students in grades 06-08.
Is Phoenix International School of the Arts an elementary, middle, or high school?
Phoenix International School of the Arts is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Phoenix International School of the Arts?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Phoenix International School of the Arts is approximately 16.2:1 (15 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Phoenix International School of the Arts?
Phoenix International School of the Arts reports a student body of 4% White, 7% Hispanic, 79% Black, 0% Asian, 9% Two or more.
Who oversees Phoenix International School of the Arts?
Phoenix International School of the Arts is overseen by Charles County Public Schools in Charles County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.