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What do you wish you knew before starting at South Penn Elementary?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
491
Elementary
DISTRICT 280 · STATE 481
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ALLEGANY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 240003001359
South Penn Elementary
500 E 2nd St, Cumberland, MD 21502 · (301) 777-1755 · Allegany County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY33-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL491 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 40% of Maryland public elementary schools
- CTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- BBeats 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 elementary schools
Student : Teacher
10.3:1
48 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.8:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
80%
391 students
DISTRICT 59% · STATE 54%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 77 | 16% |
| Kindergarten | 66 | 13% |
| Grade 1 | 73 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 80 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 72 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 63 | 13% |
| Grade 5 | 60 | 12% |
This year's kindergarten class (66) is 10% larger than its 5th grade class (60).
Student demographics
47%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 28% · 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
Test scores
MCAP 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 3-4)English Language Arts
31.9%
MD avg 50.6% . -0.1pp since 2023
Math
36.3%
MD avg 34.8% . +5.9pp since 2023
What this means: On the MCAP, Maryland's statewide test, about 32 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 36 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Maryland schools, those numbers are about 51 and 35. Reading and writing scores have held steady since 2023, while math scores are up about 6 points.
MCAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 31.9% | 36.3% |
| 2023-24 | 32.0% | 30.4% |
% 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
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
32.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
27.1%
based on MD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+5.5pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 33% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 27% typical for Maryland schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Maryland's top nor bottom 10%.
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 South Penn Elementary
South Penn Elementary's state test result (32.6% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Penn Elementary this school | 491 | 79.6% | 32.6% |
| Carter G Woodson Elementary Crisfield | 512 | 77.0% | 29.2% |
| West Side Elementary Cumberland | 321 | 72.6% | 41.9% |
| Bear Creek Elementary Baltimore | 461 | 76.8% | 31.9% |
| Grange Elementary Baltimore | 483 | 71.6% | 29.7% |
| Broad Ford Elementary Oakland | 601 | 66.7% | 50.8% |
Matched among Maryland elementary 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 South Penn Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Maryland | In Allegany County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 32.6% | #589 of 853 | #14 of 14 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 36.3% | #486 of 853 ▲ 55 | #12 of 14 ▲ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 31.9% | #695 of 853 ▼ 66 | #14 of 14 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 491 | #398 of 898 | #1 of 14 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 10.3:1 | #31 of 857 | #1 of 14 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 46.5% | #563 of 857 | #1 of 14 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 79.6% | #192 of 885 | #2 of 14 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -8.9% | #366 of 551 | #8 of 12 |
Ranked against other public elementary 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.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
491
-6 (-1%) vs 2020
-19% since 1990-91, when it was 605
Student : Teacher
10.3:1
was 11.3:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 491 | 47.6 | 10.3:1 | 80% (391) |
| 2023-24 | 512 | 47 | 10.9:1 | 69% (353) |
| 2022-23 | 523 | 46 | 11.4:1 | 77% (404) |
| 2020-21 | 497 | 44 | 11.3:1 | 67% (334) |
| 2017-18 | 539 | 36.7 | 14.7:1 | 69% (371) |
| 2015-16 | 517 | 37 | 14.0:1 | 78% (402) |
| 2010-11 | 462 | 36 | 12.8:1 | 73% (337) |
| 2000-01 | 586 | 37 | 15.8:1 | 54% (317) |
| 1990-91 | 605 | 30 | 20.2:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for South Penn Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 9% (539 to 491); teachers up 30% (36.7 to 47.6).
About South Penn Elementary
Cumberland, Maryland, is home to South Penn Elementary, a mid-sized elementary school. The school teaches pre-K through 5 and enrolls 491 students.
Across its 22 schools, Allegany County Public Schools enrolls 8,113 students. South Penn Elementary is one of those schools.
The share of White students at South Penn Elementary is 70%, a majority. Other students are 17% multiracial, 10% Black, and 3% Hispanic. That is lower than the 87% White share among all Allegany County residents. A diversity index of 47% means there is a 47% chance two randomly chosen students at South Penn Elementary are from different groups.
There are about 10.3 students for every full-time-equivalent teacher at South Penn Elementary, which has 47.6. The school's 10.3:1 compares with an average of 13.8:1 for elementary schools in Maryland. Eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch stands at 80%. That is higher than the 58% average for public schools in Allegany County.
On the allk12 Grade, South Penn Elementary lands at C+, ahead of 40% of Maryland public elementary schools.
On the allk12 BeatsExpectations measure, South Penn Elementary is 5.5 points above the average proficiency rate across its state test results predicted for its free or reduced-price lunch share: 32.6% actual, 27.1% predicted. That is outside both the top and bottom 10% in Maryland.
For Allegany County, Census Bureau data show the median household earns about $59,603 a year, roughly 21% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 11%. Public schools in Allegany County number 22, with about 8,113 students.
About 0.6 miles separate South Penn Elementary from the closest public school, Washington Middle. The five-mile area around South Penn Elementary holds at least 8 other public schools. South Penn Elementary ranks 6th of 8 among nearby schools on average proficiency, with 32.6% against a local average of 42.2%.
Under the NCES locale system, South Penn Elementary is Town: Remote.
The school's size has been steady, with 497 students in 2020-21 and 491 in 2024-25.
Anyone can start a thread about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies at South Penn Elementary. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Allegany County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
67,452
Census ACS
Median income
$59,603
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
21%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
22
8,113 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Allegany County Public Schools
- Mountain Ridge High SchoolHigh · 743 students
- Allegany HighHigh · 719 students
- Fort Hill HighHigh · 655 students
- Washington MiddleMiddle · 577 students
- Braddock MiddleMiddle · 536 students
- Beall ElementaryElementary · 415 students
Other schools in Cumberland
- Allegany HighHigh · 719 students
- Fort Hill HighHigh · 655 students
- Washington MiddleMiddle · 577 students
- Braddock MiddleMiddle · 536 students
- West Side ElementaryElementary · 321 students
- Northeast ElementaryElementary · 272 students
Nearby schools
- Washington Middle0.6 mi · 577
- Fort Hill High0.7 mi · 655
- John Humbird Elementary0.9 mi · 242
- West Side Elementary1.3 mi · 321
- Wiley Ford Primary School2.0 mi · 180
- Braddock Middle2.2 mi · 536
Frequently asked questions
About South Penn ElementaryHow large is South Penn Elementary?
South Penn Elementary enrolls approximately 491 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does South Penn Elementary serve?
South Penn Elementary serves grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at South Penn Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at South Penn Elementary is approximately 10.3:1 (48 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at South Penn Elementary?
At South Penn Elementary, the student body is approximately 70% White, 3% Hispanic, 10% Black, 0% Asian, 17% Two or more.
Is South Penn Elementary public or private?
South Penn Elementary is a public K-12 school, overseen by Allegany County Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.