The top reported proficiency rate is 40% in English language arts. The lowest is 20% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Greenbelt Elementary
Greenbelt Elementary is a regular public school in Prince George’s County serving students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. It sits within the planned New Deal community of Greenbelt, a suburb of Washington, D.C., whose historic core was built around footpaths, superblocks, and a shared town common rather than conventional suburban streets. That original design gives parts of the city a notably walkable, pedestrian-oriented feel. Major employment centers such as NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center sit just outside the city boundary, and the Greenbelt Metro station provides rail access into Washington. The housing market reflects the mix: cooperative townhouses in the federally built core alongside conventional single-family and multi-family housing built later, with home values slightly below state benchmarks and rents moderately priced relative to national income norms.
The school itself is not small; enrollment runs through multiple sections per grade, and the student body is diverse. More than half of students are Black, with substantial shares of Hispanic and white students and a smaller Asian population. A significant majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a figure that families may want to consider alongside the school’s other characteristics. Data on the share of students with individualized education plans or English learner status was not reported, a gap the school could clarify for families weighing supports.
On state testing, Greenbelt Elementary’s results are mixed. In English language arts, the picture varies by grade. Fourth-grade proficiency was reported at a rate approaching half of students, fifth-grade proficiency came in lower than that, and for third grade the state reported a proficiency band that parents may want to discuss directly with the school. Math proficiency was lower across all tested grades, falling below a quarter of students in each of third, fourth, and fifth grade. Science, tested in fifth grade, also shows proficiency below a quarter of students. The overall district, Prince George’s County Public Schools, has pursued a science-of-reading literacy initiative and a recent boundary review that may affect attendance zones; a parent moving into the area should confirm that this school remains their assigned option and ask how the curriculum shift is being implemented at the elementary level.
Because there is only one school in the county’s comparison set for this analysis, no clear position relative to neighboring districts can be drawn for proficiency, graduation rates, or chronic absenteeism. This absence does not carry a judgment; it simply means the available data does not allow a local ranking. The school does not serve high school grades, so no graduation rate applies.
For a family considering Greenbelt Elementary, the strongest draw is the community itself: a historically distinctive, walkable town with cooperative housing, civic anchors like the Old Greenbelt Theatre and the co-op market, and easy transit access to jobs and universities. The academic results, particularly in math, are soft spots that the school and district are working to address through district-wide literacy efforts and other initiatives. A parent would want to visit, talk with the principal about intervention and enrichment strategies, and ask how the school supports students who arrive below grade-level benchmarks. The school is a neighborhood elementary in a high-needs district, and its performance numbers reflect that context rather than any single cause.
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