Schools in Springdale, MD

Springdale, Maryland, is home to two public schools—Charles Herbert Flowers High School and Ardmore Elementary School—both part of the Prince George's County Public Schools district, which ranks near the bottom in the state.

Charles Herbert Flowers High School is a large school with 2,712 students, and it presents a striking contrast in academic performance. Its English Language Arts (ELA) proficiency is a standout at 62.5%, far exceeding both the district (38.9%) and state (51.7%) averages. However, its math proficiency is critically low at 12.8%, below the district average of 13.7%. The school boasts a strong graduation rate of 89.6%, well above the district's 78.9%, but struggles with chronic absenteeism at 32.0%. In comparison, Ardmore Elementary School is a much smaller school with 470 students and a very high poverty rate, with 92.34% of students receiving free/reduced lunch. Despite this challenge, Ardmore outperforms the district in math proficiency (20.1% vs. 13.7%) and has a much lower chronic absenteeism rate of 16.7%, well below the district average of 30.2%. Ardmore also spends significantly more per student ($22,839) compared to Flowers High ($16,254) and has a much lower student-teacher ratio (11.6:1 vs. 19.7:1).

Key takeaways for parents include the "ELA oasis" at Flowers High, where strong literacy instruction contrasts with a math desert, suggesting a targeted focus on reading. Ardmore Elementary's success in math and attendance, despite extreme poverty, highlights the potential benefits of smaller class sizes and higher per-pupil spending. Both schools demonstrate that even within a struggling district, individual schools can carve out distinct areas of strength, making school-level leadership and strategy critical factors for families to consider.