Summary:
The Cecil County Public Schools district in Maryland is home to 17 diverse elementary schools serving students from prekindergarten through 5th grade. The data reveals a mix of high-performing and underperforming schools, with a few standouts like Calvert Elementary, Kenmore Elementary, and Charlestown Elementary consistently ranking among the top schools in the state. However, several schools, such as Thomson Estates Elementary, Gilpin Manor Elementary, and Holly Hall Elementary, struggle academically with proficiency rates well below the district and state averages.
The data also reveals significant disparities in student demographics and socioeconomic status across the district. Some schools have a predominantly white student population, while others are more diverse. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, a proxy for socioeconomic status, ranges from around 40% to over 70%, indicating substantial economic diversity within the district. This suggests a potential correlation between socioeconomic status and student academic performance, with the higher-poverty schools generally underperforming their more affluent counterparts.
Despite the variations in funding and resources, with the highest-spending schools spending over $17,000 per student and the lowest-spending schools around $13,000 per student, the data suggests that factors beyond just funding may be contributing to the disparities in academic achievement. This highlights the importance of school-level factors, such as leadership, teaching practices, and curriculum, in driving student success. The data presents opportunities for the higher-performing schools to share their best practices with their lower-performing counterparts, fostering collaboration and the dissemination of effective approaches to improve educational outcomes for all students in the Cecil County Public Schools district.
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