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What's the one class at Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School every student should take?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
663
Elementary
DISTRICT 569 · STATE 481
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CHARLES COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 240027000609
Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School
400 Willow Ln, La Plata, MD 20646 · (301) 934-4687 · Charles County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY41-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL663 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 45% of Maryland public elementary schools
- BTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C-Beats 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
18.4:1
36 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.0:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
36%
241 students
DISTRICT 51% · 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 | 45 | 7% |
| Kindergarten | 113 | 17% |
| Grade 1 | 98 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 100 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 92 | 14% |
| Grade 4 | 102 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 113 | 17% |
This year's kindergarten class (113) is about the same size as its 5th grade class (113).
Student demographics
65%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
Test scores
MCAP 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 3-4)English Language Arts
62.8%
MD avg 50.6% . +18.7pp since 2023
Math
49.4%
MD avg 34.8% . +7.4pp since 2023
What this means: On the MCAP, Maryland's statewide test, about 63 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 49 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Maryland schools, those numbers are about 51 and 35. Reading and writing scores are up about 19 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 7 points.
MCAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 62.8% | 49.4% |
| 2023-24 | 44.1% | 42.0% |
% 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
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
49.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
52.7%
based on MD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-3.1pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 50% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 53% 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 Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School
Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School's state test result (49.6% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School this school | 663 | 36.3% | 49.6% |
| Barstow Elementary Prince Frederick | 630 | 41.1% | 62.1% |
| Piney Branch Elementary Takoma Park | 575 | 34.8% | 66.3% |
| Thomas Johnson Elementary/Middle Baltimore | 532 | 40.4% | 61.2% |
| T. C. Martin Elementary School Bryantown | 538 | 37.0% | 52.6% |
| Francis Scott Key Elementary/Middle Baltimore | 722 | 40.0% | 64.5% |
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 Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Maryland | In Charles County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 49.6% | #342 of 853 | #4 of 22 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 49.4% | #304 of 853 ▲ 79 | #3 of 22 ▲ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 62.8% | #243 of 853 ▲ 203 | #3 of 22 ▲ 7 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 663 | #130 of 898 | #5 of 22 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 18.4:1 | #846 of 857 | #22 of 22 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 65.2% | #295 of 857 | #6 of 22 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 36.3% | #656 of 885 | #22 of 22 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -5.0% | #453 of 551 | #11 of 15 |
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
663
+50 (+8%) vs 2020
-17% since 1990-91, when it was 800
Student : Teacher
18.4:1
was 17.0:1
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 | 663 | 36 | 18.4:1 | 36% (241) |
| 2023-24 | 605 | 36.7 | 16.5:1 | 35% (211) |
| 2022-23 | 637 | 39 | 16.3:1 | 32% (202) |
| 2020-21 | 613 | 36 | 17.0:1 | 27% (165) |
| 2017-18 | 698 | 38 | 18.4:1 | 24% (171) |
| 2015-16 | 674 | 36 | 18.7:1 | 28% (191) |
| 2010-11 | 630 | 33 | 19.1:1 | 21% (130) |
| 2000-01 | 665 | 35 | 19.0:1 | 16% (106) |
| 1990-91 | 800 | 39 | 20.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 5% (698 to 663); teachers down 5% (38 to 36).
About Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School
Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School is a mid-sized elementary school based in La Plata, Maryland. Enrollment stands at 663 students, covering pre-K through 5. That puts enrollment 38% bigger than the 481-student average for elementary schools in Maryland.
Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School is a school in Charles County Public Schools. The district has 38 schools and 28,162 students.
About 51% of the student body at Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School is White. The remaining students are 24% Black, 12% Hispanic, and 11% multiracial. Among people living in Charles County, the White share is about 33%. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 65%.
A staff of 36 full-time-equivalent teachers puts the student-to-teacher ratio at 18.4:1. Across elementary schools in Maryland, the average ratio is 13.8:1. The share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch is 36%. The gap from the 50% average for public schools in Charles County is 14 points.
Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School holds a B- allk12 Grade, placing it above 45% of Maryland public elementary schools.
Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School scores 49.6% on state tests, averaged across results. The predicted figure, based on its student poverty level, is 52.7%.
Census data for Charles County show the median household earns about $122,816 a year, roughly 34% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 5% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Counting Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School, Charles County has 40 public schools.
Milton M. Somers Middle School is about 0.4 miles from Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School, the shortest distance to any other public school. Other public schools within five miles: 7. The school's 49.6% average proficiency ranks 1st among 9 nearby schools.
Its NCES locale code is Rural: Fringe: the school is in rural territory close to an urban area.
In 2020-21, Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School enrolled 613 students. By 2024-25, that number had grown to 663. Staffing shifted too: the ratio moved from 17.0:1 to 18.4:1.
The Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School discussion page is a place for special education services, counseling, and support programs. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
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
- Mary H. Matula Elementary SchoolElementary · 610 students
- Phoenix International School of the ArtsMiddle · 243 students
- F. B. Gwynn Educational CenterElementary
Nearby schools
- Milton M. Somers Middle School0.4 mi · 671
- Phoenix International School of the Arts0.8 mi · 243
- Mary H. Matula Elementary School2.1 mi · 610
- La Plata High School2.1 mi · 1,217
- Maurice J. McDonough High School4.4 mi · 1,163
- St. Charles High School4.6 mi · 1,617
Frequently asked questions
About Walter J. Mitchell Elementary SchoolHow many students attend Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School?
Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School enrolls approximately 663 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School serve?
Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many teachers does Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School have?
Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School employs 36 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 18.4:1.
What is the student diversity at Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School?
Student demographics at Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School are roughly 51% White, 12% Hispanic, 24% Black, 1% Asian, 11% Two or more.
Is Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School public or private?
Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Charles County Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.