Galena Elementary School, Galena MD

Original Research by School Decision on Galena Elementary School

Galena Elementary School serves students from prekindergarten through fifth grade in the small rural town of Galena, Maryland. The school is part of Kent County Public Schools, a district that has undergone recent change: middle schools were consolidated, closing Rock Hall Middle School and moving those students to Kent County Middle School in Chestertown, and a new superintendent was appointed in mid-2024. For a Galena family, this means elementary-aged children attend school in town, while middle school means a commute to Chestertown and high school to Worton.

The school itself is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. Enrollment is modest for an elementary school serving seven grade levels. The student body is predominantly white, with a substantial Hispanic presence and smaller shares of Black students and students identifying as two or more races. About half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, which is a meaningful share and places the school in a middle ground on economic need within the broader context of the county.

State assessment results from the 2024-25 school year, the only year of data available for trend comparison, show low proficiency rates in math, English language arts, and science. In third grade, roughly a third of students met or exceeded the state standard in ELA, but that share dropped in fifth grade. Math proficiency rates were lower across all tested grades, with fewer than one in five students scoring proficient in any grade tested. Science results in fifth grade were similarly low. These are the school’s most recent and only available test results, so there is no prior year to compare them against; the trend line begins and ends with the same year. A parent looking at these numbers would want to ask the school directly about its academic improvement plans, instructional supports, and how it addresses the gap between current performance and state expectations.

The town of Galena is small and walkable at its core, with a Main Street of antique shops, a diner, and small retailers. The Sassafras River is a short drive away, and parks and a public library branch serve the community. Housing in the area carries a value near the Maryland state average, with modest year-over-year growth. For families, Galena Elementary is the neighborhood school within walking distance for many, but the school’s performance data suggests that parents should inquire closely about academic supports, particularly in math and science, and about how the school identifies and helps students who are not yet proficient. The district’s recent consolidation and leadership change may also be worth discussing with school or district staff to understand how those shifts affect resources and priorities at the elementary level.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 327%

School 27% · district not reported

▼ 11 pts below state median

Grade 410%

School 10% · district not reported

▼ 17 pts below state median

Grade 58%

School 8% · district not reported

▼ 13 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 336%

School 36% · district not reported

▼ 11 pts below state median

Grade 436%

School 36% · district not reported

▼ 9 pts below state median

Grade 527%

School 27% · district not reported

▼ 13 pts below state median

Science

Grade 511%

School 11% · district not reported

▼ 9 pts below state median

This schoolKent 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 4Lower-income14%Higher-income12%3 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income7%Higher-income19%11 pp gap