Powhatan Elementary

Powhatan Elementary, a low-enrollment K-5 school in Baltimore, Maryland, operated by Baltimore County Public Schools, instructs 250 students, covering grades pre-K through 5. That puts it 48% leaner than the typical public school in Maryland, which averages around 481 students.

Powhatan Elementary is one of 177 schools operated by Baltimore County Public Schools, a district that educates 110,872 students overall.

On the student-mix side, Powhatan Elementary reports that 70% of the student body identifies as Black. The remainder consists of 20% Hispanic, 5% multiracial, 2% Asian, 2% White. That is considerably more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 31%.

On the income-and-resources front, Powhatan Elementary shows 21 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 11.8:1. The state averages around 13.8:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Roughly 68% of students at Powhatan Elementary qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. That share is above Baltimore County's rate of about 53%.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Powhatan Elementary ranks in the top 10% of Maryland public schools. The BeatsExpectations model, a per-state regression of composite proficiency on FRL share, predicts schools with this student profile to land around 34.2%; Powhatan Elementary posts 49.1%, +14.9 points above that line.

Zooming out to the county, ACS estimates for Baltimore County put the typical household earns roughly $91,768 per year, 42% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 7% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Baltimore County runs 180 public schools (combined enrollment of about 110,872 students), of which Powhatan Elementary is one.

The closest other public school is Woodlawn Middle, roughly 0.8 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Powhatan Elementary at 1st of 6; the average score across the group is 26.4%.

The school occupies an outer-ring site.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Powhatan Elementary has contracted 12%, going from 283 students in 2018 to 250 in 2025. The Hispanic share of enrollment rose from 9% to 20% over that span. Class-load math has tightened: from 13.3:1 in 2018 to 11.8:1 in 2025.

On the community side, members of the Powhatan Elementary community share and discuss science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.