Red Pump Elementary School, Bel Air MD

Original Research by School Decision on Red Pump Elementary School

Red Pump Elementary School serves students in kindergarten through fifth grade in the Bel Air area of Harford County, Maryland. It is a regular public school and part of the Harford County Public Schools district. The school is not a charter or magnet school. The student body is predominantly white, with smaller shares of students who are two or more races, Hispanic, Black, and Asian. A modest share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals.

The school’s academic performance on state assessments is a clear strength. In English language arts, the share of students scoring proficient or above was high across all tested grades, with third grade near three-quarters, fourth grade above four-fifths, and fifth grade around three-quarters. In math, proficiency was somewhat lower but still solid: third grade came in around two-thirds, fourth grade slightly below that, and fifth grade fell in a range near the midpoint. Science, tested only in fifth grade, showed a lower proficiency rate. The district is implementing a new state attendance and behavior law beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, which will affect expectations for absences and discipline. No trend data beyond a single year was available, so it is not possible to say whether performance is improving or declining.

Bel Air is the county seat and the hub of government, healthcare, and commerce in Harford County. The town has a historic downtown with locally owned shops and restaurants, and a designated arts and entertainment district covering most of that downtown area. The Ma & Pa Trail, a walking and biking path on a former railroad line, runs through the town. Major employers include Upper Chesapeake Hospital, Harford County government, and the state government. Public transit is available via Harford Transit LINK, with the Harford Mall serving as a main transfer hub. Housing values in the area are meaningfully above the national median, and rents have been rising. The area has seen steady growth over time, and development remains active.

The school building is located on Red Pump Road, a setting that a family might want to visit to get a sense of the commute and surrounding neighborhood. The district recently rebuilt Homestead-Wakefield Elementary School in Bel Air as a single-building campus, a project that changed the campus experience for families in that attendance area. For Red Pump families, the nearby school environment is stable.

A parent considering Red Pump will find a school with strong literacy results and solid math performance, set in a community that is the commercial and governmental center of the county. The science scores are an area where a family may want to ask the school about curriculum and support. The student body has limited economic diversity by the measure of meal eligibility. The school does not offer programs that would apply to older grades, as it serves only elementary students, so there is no data on advanced coursework or career pathways. The overall picture is of a school that performs well academically in a growing suburban town with a lively downtown and access to transit.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 367%

School 67% · district not reported

▲ 30 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Grade 466%

School 66% · district not reported

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 372%

School 72% · district not reported

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 482%

School 82% · district not reported

▲ 37 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Grade 575%

School 75% · district not reported

▲ 35 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

Science

Grade 542%

School 42% · district not reported

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

This schoolHarford County Public Schools, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 5Lower-income15%Higher-income35%20 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income33%Higher-income40%7 pp gap