Suitland Elementary, Suitland MD

Original Research by School Decision on Suitland Elementary

Suitland Elementary is a regular public school serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in the Prince George’s County Public Schools district, located in the suburban community of Suitland, Maryland. The school is situated in an area shaped by federal employment, with agencies like the Census Bureau, NOAA, and the National Archives concentrated in the nearby Suitland Federal Center. Suitland itself has no traditional downtown; its civic nodes are Washington Metro stations and the intersection of Suitland and Silver Hill Roads. The community is auto-oriented, with limited pedestrian street life, and its housing stock includes both apartment complexes and single-family homes. Revitalization efforts are active, including a program offering purchase-price assistance to first-time homebuyers in designated census tracts and a project rehabbing foreclosed homes with eco-friendly upgrades. A new multifamily condominium complex was completed in a recent year, and underutilized Metro stations are seen as sites for future development. The population has been roughly stable over recent decades.

The school’s enrollment is a few hundred students, serving grades PK through 5 with class sizes that appear typical for an elementary school serving this age range. The student body is majority Black, with a substantial Hispanic population and very small shares of white, Asian, and multiracial students. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, placing the school in a high-poverty context. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the reporting, so a family with a child in either category would want to ask the school directly about supports.

On state assessments, proficiency rates in math were low across all tested grades. In English language arts, proficiency rates were higher than in math but still well below a majority of students meeting the bar. Fifth-grade science proficiency was similarly low. Because only one year of testing data was available for this school, there is no trend line to show whether these results reflect an established pattern or a recent shift. A parent considering this school should ask the principal about the specific instructional strategies in place for math and reading and about any recent changes in curriculum or staffing that might affect achievement.

The district, Prince George’s County Public Schools, approved a budget increase for a recent fiscal year that directed additional funding to teacher salaries and student support services. It also implemented a district-wide literacy initiative in the prior school year, adopting evidence-based reading curriculum aligned with the science of reading, which directly affects how elementary students are taught. A boundary review was conducted to address overcrowding, with changes proposed for a coming school year that could alter attendance zones. These are current, parent-relevant developments.

Suitland Elementary is a neighborhood school serving a high-poverty community where proficiency on state tests is well below state averages. A family should be prepared to engage actively with the school and the district about academic supports and to monitor the implementation of the literacy initiative and any boundary changes that could affect assignment.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 37%

School 7% · district not reported

▼ 31 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 43%

School 3% · district not reported

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 56%

School 6% · district not reported

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 316%

School 16% · district not reported

▼ 31 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 424%

School 24% · district not reported

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 529%

School 29% · district not reported

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Science

Grade 510%

School 10% · district not reported

▼ 9 pts below state median · even with county median

This schoolPrince George's 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 3Lower-income7%Higher-income11%4 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income6%Higher-income18%12 pp gap