Springhill Lake Elementary

Springhill Lake Elementary in Greenbelt, MD, is a large school serving 804 students from Pre-K through 5th grade within the Prince George's County Public Schools district, where over 92% of students come from families with very high economic need. Academically, the school faces significant challenges, with only 9.5% of students proficient in math and 18.3% in English Language Arts (ELA) for the 2025-2026 school year—rates that are roughly half the already-low district averages and far below state averages. This performance places Springhill Lake in the bottom 10% of Maryland elementary schools, a trend that has persisted for several years.

One of the most pressing issues is chronic absenteeism, which affects 42.0% of students—the highest rate among nearby schools and nearly double that of Beltsville Academy (20.1%) and Berwyn Heights Elementary (21.8%). This persistent challenge, hovering around 40% for four years, suggests deep-rooted systemic issues. Additionally, math proficiency drops sharply as students advance: 3rd graders achieve 17.2% proficiency, but this falls to 6.7% in 4th grade and just 4.4% in 5th grade, a decline more severe than at comparable schools like Paint Branch Elementary.

Interestingly, Springhill Lake spends more per student ($23,432) than most nearby schools, including higher-performing ones like Greenbelt Elementary ($19,295) and Vansville Elementary ($18,567), yet this funding hasn't translated into stronger outcomes. A stark contrast is Dora Kennedy French Immersion, just 0.62 miles away, which achieves 46.7% math and 77.5% ELA proficiency with only 28.65% of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch. There is a glimmer of hope in 3rd-grade ELA (15.5% proficiency), suggesting early literacy efforts may be having a modest impact, but this progress isn't sustained in later grades.