Best Public Schools in La Plata, MD

Summary:

The city of La Plata, Maryland is home to 5 schools that serve students from elementary through high school, all part of the Charles County Public Schools district. The district is ranked 21 out of 25 in the state of Maryland and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Among the schools, Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School and Mary H. Matula Elementary School stand out for their strong academic performance, consistently outpacing the district and state averages in both math and English language arts proficiency. Meanwhile, Milton M. Somers Middle School excels in advanced math courses like Algebra I and Geometry.

On the other hand, Phoenix International School of the Arts, a public charter middle school, lags behind the other schools in the district in both math and English language arts proficiency. Additionally, the district as a whole faces challenges with a high chronic absenteeism rate of 27.0% across all schools, as well as relatively high free/reduced lunch rates, suggesting a need for additional support and resources for economically disadvantaged students.

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				MCAP Mathematics (2025)							MCAP English Language Arts (2025)								MCAP Algebra I (2025)	MCAP Algebra II (2025)	MCAP Geometry (2025)	MCAP Science (2025)		MCAP Social Studies (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MCAP Mathematics 3rd Grade	MCAP Mathematics 4th Grade	MCAP Mathematics 5th Grade	MCAP Mathematics 6th Grade	MCAP Mathematics 7th Grade	MCAP Mathematics 8th Grade	MCAP Mathematics All Grades	MCAP English Language Arts 3rd Grade	MCAP English Language Arts 4th Grade	MCAP English Language Arts 5th Grade	MCAP English Language Arts 6th Grade	MCAP English Language Arts 7th Grade	MCAP English Language Arts 8th Grade	MCAP English Language Arts 10th Grade	MCAP English Language Arts All Grades	MCAP Algebra I End of Course	MCAP Algebra II End of Course	MCAP Geometry End of Course	MCAP Science 5th Grade	MCAP Science 8th Grade	MCAP Social Studies 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Mary H. Matula Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	6025 Radio Station Rd	La Plata	20646	Charles County	Charles County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(301) 934-5412	610	42	14.5	40.5%	181 (29.7%)	260 (42.6%)	67 (11.0%)	25 (4.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	77 (12.6%)	60	337^th of 865 public elementary schools	61.0%		63.4	284^th of 859 public elementary schools	66.9%	53	47.2	28.9	31.3				35.3	57.8	51.8	55.4					54.7				29.3			$20,021	$1,284	$18,737
La Plata High School	Public	9-12	6035 Radio Station Rd	La Plata	20646	Charles County	Charles County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(301) 934-1100	1,217	74	16.4	31.0%	641 (52.7%)	326 (26.8%)	114 (9.4%)	31 (2.5%)	4 (0.3%)	4 (0.3%)	96 (7.9%)	44.7	88^th of 220 public high schools	60.0%		52.4	48^th of 146 public high schools	67.1%	40							8.5							67.8	67.8	2.3	18.5					$17,385	$350	$17,034
Milton M. Somers Middle School	Public	6-8	300 Willow Lane	La Plata	20646	Charles County	Charles County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(301) 934-4663	671	49	13.6	43.2%	189 (28.2%)	331 (49.3%)	72 (10.7%)	33 (4.9%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.3%)	43 (6.4%)	58.5	126^th of 337 public middle schools	62.6%		44.5	147^th of 328 public middle schools	55.2%	21				22.7	21.7	2.6	20.0				62.7	53.4	51.8		55.9	26.0		54.5		29.1	35.6	$19,744	$706	$19,038
Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	400 Willow Ln	La Plata	20646	Charles County	Charles County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(301) 934-4687	663	36	18.4	36.3%	340 (51.3%)	161 (24.3%)	79 (11.9%)	9 (1.4%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.2%)	71 (10.7%)	67.3	276^th of 865 public elementary schools	68.1%		51.2	365^th of 859 public elementary schools	57.5%	89	46.7	36.6	38.7				40.4	60.0	50.5	55.0					55.0				37.5			$17,623	$1,113	$16,510
F. B. Gwynn Educational Center	Public	PK, KG-8	5998 Radio Station Rd	La Plata	20646	Charles County	Charles County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(301) 934-3884	0	32	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)							0.0								7.7
Phoenix International School of the Arts	Public, Charter	6-8	95 Catalpa Dr	La Plata	20646	Charles County	Charles County Public Schools	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(301) 202-4159	243	15	16.2	42.0%	10 (4.1%)	191 (78.6%)	18 (7.4%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	22 (9.1%)	20	279^th of 337 public middle schools	17.2%					(n/a)				0.0	9.8	0.0	3.7				22.1	39.3	30.0		30.1	0.0				12.5	10.5	$18,265	$418	$17,847

Cities Near La Plata

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Pomfret	3.96 mi	3	134^th
Waldorf	4.59 mi	21	212^th
White Plains	5.81 mi	1	202^nd
Bryantown	7.16 mi	1	149^th
Indian Head	8.29 mi	5	218^th

See the top MD Maryland cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Maryland State Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.

Best Public Schools in La Plata, MD

Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School

Mary H. Matula Elementary School

Milton M. Somers Middle School

La Plata High School

Phoenix International School of the Arts

F. B. Gwynn Educational Center

Cities Near La Plata