Van Bokkelen Elementary

Van Bokkelen Elementary is a mid-tier elementary campus in Severn, Maryland, run under Anne Arundel County Public Schools. The school teaches 471 students in grades pre-K through 5.

Anne Arundel County Public Schools runs 125 schools in total, collectively educating 85,029 students. Van Bokkelen Elementary is one of those campuses.

On the student-mix side, Van Bokkelen Elementary lists that the largest single group is Black, at 61% of enrollment. Beyond that, the school records 27% Hispanic, 5% White, 4% multiracial. That is noticeably more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 18%.

On the income-and-resources front, On paper, Van Bokkelen Elementary has 41 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 11.5:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.8:1, putting Van Bokkelen Elementary tighter than the state norm the norm. An estimated 87% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. By comparison, Anne Arundel County runs at roughly 42%, so the school's eligibility rate is above the surrounding baseline.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Van Bokkelen Elementary tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 22.7% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 21.5%.

Across the wider county, the surrounding county (Anne Arundel County) reports that the typical household earns roughly $124,911 per year, roughly 46% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 4%. Across Anne Arundel County's 129 public schools (combined enrollment of about 85,074 students), Van Bokkelen Elementary is one campus in the mix.

Meade Heights Elementary is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.6 miles from this campus. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. On composite proficiency, Van Bokkelen Elementary comes 9th of 9 in the immediate cluster, below the nearby-schools average of 38.7%.

Geographically, the school is in an outer-ring area.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count fell 4%: 491 students in 2018 compared to 471 in 2025. The Black share of enrollment edged down from 72% to 61% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 12.8:1 in 2018 to 11.5:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.