The top reported proficiency rate is 36% in Science. The lowest is 21% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on St. Charles High School
Waldorf is the largest commercial and residential area in Southern Maryland and a major suburb of Washington, D.C. It is predominantly a bedroom community, with a large share of residents commuting to federal, professional services, and healthcare jobs in the broader D.C. metro. Local jobs are primarily in service, sales, healthcare, and construction. The planned community of St. Charles, fueled by a major federal loan package, accounts for much of the residential development, and the population has grown dramatically over recent decades. The area is sprawling and auto-oriented, with no traditional downtown and a built environment of suburban subdivisions and strip commercial development along the main highway. St. Charles High School sits within this commuter-growth context as one of four public high schools serving Waldorf.
St. Charles High School is a regular public high school serving grades nine through twelve. Its enrollment is large for a high school, and a substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. The student body is predominantly Black, with a notable Hispanic population and smaller shares of students who are white, two or more races, and Asian. Data on the proportion of students receiving special education services or classified as English learners was not available in the source materials.
Academic performance data is limited. The school participated in Maryland state assessments during an unusual testing cycle tied to the pandemic, and the results for eighth-grade math and science courses reflect a very small number of test takers, likely because these are students completing high-school-level coursework early. Proficiency rates in those subjects were low, though the small cohort makes broad interpretation difficult. More recent data from the most recent school year shows a single-year proficiency rate in English language arts that sits around the midpoint, while the proficiency rate in Algebra II is low. No multi-year trend data is available for any subject, so it is not possible to assess improvement or decline over time. A graduation rate was not present in the data, so a parent should confirm this figure directly with the school or district.
The school’s district, Charles County Public Schools, did not have publicly reported parent-relevant changes such as boundary adjustments, program closures, or new strategic initiatives that met the bar for inclusion in this profile. The district search turned up general budget and enrollment information but no specific changes that would directly affect a family’s day-to-day experience at St. Charles High School. Because the comparison set for the county contains only one district, it is not possible to position St. Charles High School relative to peers on academic measures.
Housing in the area carries a price level slightly below the Maryland state benchmark, and a typical mortgage payment for a median-priced home would run higher than the average rent. The national median household income is in the low eighties, and the unemployment rate at the time of this data was modest. For families moving to the area, the housing cost and commuting distance to D.C. are practical considerations that shape the community.
A parent evaluating St. Charles High School will want to look into current academic performance data, the graduation rate, and the specific course offerings and program pathways available, as those details were not provided in the source material. The school operates in a large, fast-growing suburban district where the high school’s role as one of several comprehensive options in a commuter-oriented community is the primary context for a family’s decision.
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