Rachel Carson Elementary

Located at 100 Tschiffely Square Rd, in Gaithersburg, Maryland, Rachel Carson Elementary is a middle-of-the-pack primary school that caters to 671 students (grades pre-K through 5), operated by Montgomery County Public Schools. By comparison, Maryland's public schools average about 481 students each, so Rachel Carson Elementary sits 40% bigger than that benchmark.

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

On demographics, Rachel Carson Elementary shows that the most-represented group is White (45%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. Beyond that, the school lists 23% Hispanic, 16% Asian, 8% Black, 8% multiracial. Compared to Montgomery County overall, the school's racial mix sits in roughly the same range.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Staff filings list 40 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 16.6:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 13.8:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. About 27% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. Set against Montgomery County (around 40%), the school's rate is meaningfully below typical.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Rachel Carson Elementary sits in the top 10% of Maryland schools after the BeatsExpectations adjustment. Predicted proficiency for the school's FRL share is roughly 58.3%; actual is 75.2%, +16.9 points clear of the demographic baseline.

In the surrounding community, census data for Montgomery County shows median household income runs about $132,450, roughly 61% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 5% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Rachel Carson Elementary is one of 211 public schools in Montgomery County (combined enrollment of about 159,181 students).

Quince Orchard High is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.4 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. On composite proficiency, Rachel Carson Elementary comes 2nd of 9 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 55.3%.

The campus sits in a metropolitan setting.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count decreased 34%: 1,023 students in 2018 compared to 671 in 2025. Class-load math has pulled in: from 18.1:1 in 2018 to 16.6:1 in 2025.

On this page, the feed for Rachel Carson Elementary typically covers open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.