The top reported proficiency rate is 60% in English language arts. The lowest is 29% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Emmitsburg Elementary
Emmitsburg Elementary serves students from prekindergarten through fifth grade and is part of Frederick County Public Schools. The school is located in the small town of Emmitsburg, a community shaped by Mount St. Mary’s University and the National Emergency Training Center, which houses the National Fire Academy and the Emergency Management Institute. The town has a traditional small-town center along the old alignment of US 15, and its residential fabric mixes with these large institutional campuses. Housing in the area carries a value above the national median, and the town shows tight housing supply with low vacancy rates, characteristics of a slow-growing community.
The school enrollment is modest for the elementary grade band. The student body is predominantly white, with smaller shares of Hispanic, Black, Asian, and multiracial students. More than a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, indicating a moderate level of economic need. Specific counts for students with disabilities and English learners were not provided in the available data, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about staffing and supports for those populations.
On state assessments administered through Maryland’s MCAP and MISA programs, results vary by grade and subject. In English language arts, fourth graders showed a strong proficiency rate, with more than seven in ten students scoring at proficient or above. Third graders also performed well, with roughly six in ten reaching that level. Fifth graders in English language arts were below the school’s own earlier grades, with fewer than half scoring proficient. In math, third graders had a proficiency rate reported within a range that suggests a solid showing, fourth graders were above the midpoint, and fifth graders were notably lower, with roughly a third proficient. Science is tested in fifth grade only; that result was the weakest reported, with just over a quarter of students scoring proficient. This pattern of higher performance in the early tested grades and a drop in fifth grade across both math and science is something worth noting. A parent may want to discuss with the school how the curriculum and instruction shift in the upper elementary years and what supports are available for students as they approach middle school.
Frederick County Public Schools is a large district, but the neighbor comparison data available for this school was too limited to place it among other county districts on a proficiency index. The comparison set is simply too small to draw relative conclusions. No chronic absenteeism or graduation rate data applied here, as those metrics are not reported for an elementary school.
No recent district-level changes were identified in the search, so there is no major redistricting, curriculum overhaul, or budget referendum to report. The district has no publicly flagged developments that would immediately alter a parent’s decision about this school.
Emmitsburg Elementary offers a regular public school program for its community. The academic picture is mixed, with clear strength in English language arts in the middle elementary years and a more challenging profile in math and science by fifth grade. Families considering this school may want to look into how the school addresses the transition from primary to upper elementary and what enrichment or intervention programs exist for students who need them. The town itself provides a quiet, institution-anchored setting with limited public transit and a traditional small-town feel.
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