Waugh Chapel Elementary

Waugh Chapel Elementary is a moderately sized elementary campus in Odenton, Maryland, run under Anne Arundel County Public Schools. The school works with 549 students in grades pre-K through 5.

Across the 125 schools in Anne Arundel County Public Schools (85,029 students total), Waugh Chapel Elementary accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

In terms of who attends, Waugh Chapel Elementary logs that the largest single group is White at 42%, but no single group is in the majority. Other groups include 22% Black, 19% Hispanic, 9% multiracial, 7% Asian. By comparison, Anne Arundel County as a whole is about 63% White, so the school skews visibly less White than its surroundings.

On the income-and-resources front, The school reports having 38 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 14.3:1. The state averages about 13.8:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Around 30% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. Set against Anne Arundel County (around 42%), the school's rate is meaningfully below typical.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Waugh Chapel Elementary tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 56.5% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 60.4%.

Zooming out to the county, the surrounding county (Anne Arundel County) shows that the typical household earns roughly $124,911 per year, 46% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 4%. In all, Anne Arundel County runs 129 public schools (combined enrollment of about 85,074 students), of which Waugh Chapel Elementary is one.

The closest other public school is Arundel Middle, roughly 0.7 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Waugh Chapel Elementary ranks 3rd on composite proficiency, above the local average of 51.3%.

The school occupies an outer-ring site.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Waugh Chapel Elementary has contracted 11%, going from 615 students in 2018 to 549 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share decreased from 54% to 42%. Class-load math has fell: from 16.1:1 in 2018 to 14.3:1 in 2025.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Members of the school community can share what they know.