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Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary

Q: Is Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary a good school?

Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary ranks 108 th of 865 Maryland elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-5

108^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 865 Maryland Elementary Schools

Better than 88% of Maryland elementary schools

Summary

Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary is a public elementary school in Leonardtown, Maryland, serving 537 students from pre-kindergarten to 5th grade. It is part of the St. Mary's County Public Schools district, which is ranked 6th out of 25 districts in the state and has a 4-star rating.

Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary consistently outperforms the district and state averages in Mathematics and English Language Arts assessments across all grade levels. In the 2024-2025 school year, the school's proficiency rates in Mathematics and ELA were 58.9% and 68.3%, respectively, compared to the district's 35% and 57.3%, and the state's 26.5% and 50.8%. The school's performance is particularly strong in 3rd grade Mathematics (64.8% proficient) and 5th grade ELA (71.1% proficient). Additionally, the school's 5th-grade Science proficiency rate of 47.2% is notably higher than the district (33.7%) and state (25.6%) averages.

The school also ranks 8th out of 23 Maryland elementary schools in the military-connected student subgroup, suggesting it effectively supports the academic needs of students from military families, a significant population in the local community. While the school's chronic absenteeism rate has fluctuated in recent years, it remains lower than the district average. With a relatively high per-student spending of $18,118, the school's strong academic performance and resources available to support student learning are likely contributing factors to its success.

516

Students ?

14.9

Student/teacher ratio ?

$18,118

Per pupil spending ?

19.8%

Free/discounted lunch ?

23595 Hayden Farm Lane
Leonardtown, MD 20650

(240) 309-4658

District: St. Mary's County Public Schools

Students who attend Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Leonardtown Middle
High:	Leonardtown High

Racial breakdown:

White:

72.1%

Two or more races:

9.1%

African American:

8.9%

See top rated Maryland elementary schools

Compare Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 73rd percentile in 2018 → 88th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Maryland average (61% vs 38% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 12% of Maryland elementary schools

✓Ranking is trending up — up 15 percentile points since 2018

Worth a look

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school61%

District avg45%

Maryland avg38%

108^th of 865

Maryland public elementary schools ?

Top 12%▲ up 15 pts since 2018

From top 27% (2018) to top 12% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Maryland Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

2^nd of 19Elementary Schools in the St. Mary's County Public Schools

6^th of 25St. Mary's County Public Schools among Maryland districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Maryland percentile	Rating
2025	87.3	108 of 865	87.5%	★★★★☆
2024	83.5	138 of 859	83.9%	★★★★☆
2023	74.5	212 of 855	75.2%	★★★★☆
2022	78.7	185 of 862	78.5%	★★★★☆
2021	70.3	176 of 802	78.1%	★★★★☆
2019	72.9	232 of 853	72.8%	★★★★☆
2018	72.4	235 of 857	72.6%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Maryland percentile	Rating
2021	71.1	148 of 796	81.4%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Maryland percentile	Rating
2021	62.9	204 of 788	74.1%	★★★★☆

Military Connected

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Maryland percentile	Rating
2021	60.1	8 of 23	65.2%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Maryland percentile	Rating
2021	48.7	242 of 528	54.2%	★★★☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Female (2021)81st percentile+3 vs school

Male (2021)74th percentile-4 vs school

Military Connected (2021)65th percentile-13 vs school

White (2021)54th percentile-24 vs school

By subject vs Maryland (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts68%+18 vs state

Mathematics59%+32 vs state

Science47%+22 vs state

★

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Schools Near Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary

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 Science (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 All Grades	MCAP English Language Arts 3rd Grade	MCAP English Language Arts 4th Grade	MCAP English Language Arts 5th Grade	MCAP English Language Arts All Grades	MCAP Science 5th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	23595 Hayden Farm Lane	Leonardtown	20650	St. Mary's County	St. Mary's County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(240) 309-4658	516	35	14.9	19.8%	372 (72.1%)	46 (8.9%)	31 (6.0%)	17 (3.3%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	47 (9.1%)	87.3	108^th of 865 public elementary schools	87.5%		83.5	138^th of 859 public elementary schools	83.9%	30	64.8	51.6	60.7	58.9	68.2	65.6	71.1	68.3	47.2	$18,118	$1,079	$17,038
Leonardtown Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	22885 Duke St	Leonardtown	20650	St. Mary's County	St. Mary's County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(301) 475-0250	509	31	16.5	32.4%	336 (66.0%)	68 (13.4%)	33 (6.5%)	22 (4.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	50 (9.8%)	72	239^th of 865 public elementary schools	72.4%		75	196^th of 859 public elementary schools	77.2%	43	42.5	35.1	51.4	42.3	58.8	56.4	63.9	59.3	50.0	$17,850	$1,475	$16,374
Benjamin Banneker Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	27180 Point Lookout Rd	Loveville	20656	St. Mary's County	St. Mary's County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(301) 475-0260	543	40	13.7	36.6%	416 (76.6%)	55 (10.1%)	25 (4.6%)	8 (1.5%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	36 (6.6%)	59.1	344^th of 865 public elementary schools	60.2%		56	329^th of 859 public elementary schools	61.7%	15	39.3	33.3	39.8	37.5	52.8	46.0	53.7	50.8	31.0	$21,411	$1,540	$19,871
Evergreen Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	43765 Wildewood Parkway	California	20619	St. Mary's County	St. Mary's County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(301) 863-4060	715	42	16.9	23.5%	445 (62.2%)	92 (12.9%)	81 (11.3%)	37 (5.2%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	57 (8.0%)	81.1	170^th of 865 public elementary schools	80.3%		80.5	161^st of 859 public elementary schools	81.3%	9	55.3	55.7	54.7	55.2	62.1	62.6	64.1	62.9	37.2	$14,965	$949	$14,016
Hollywood Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	44345 Joy Chapel Rd	Hollywood	20636	St. Mary's County	St. Mary's County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(301) 373-4350	414	26	15.6	32.1%	263 (63.5%)	43 (10.4%)	43 (10.4%)	13 (3.1%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	50 (12.1%)	81.6	163^rd of 865 public elementary schools	81.2%		69.6	244^th of 859 public elementary schools	71.6%	81	66.2	48.4	48.1	53.9	67.7	67.2	55.8	63.1	40.3	$19,331	$1,351	$17,980
Oakville Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	26410 Three Notch Road	Mechanicsville	20659	St. Mary's County	St. Mary's County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(301) 373-4365	291	20	14.6	43.0%	210 (72.2%)	30 (10.3%)	20 (6.9%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	30 (10.3%)	82.7	154^th of 865 public elementary schools	82.2%		66.4	267^th of 859 public elementary schools	68.9%	113	66.7	49.0	52.2	54.9	62.9	55.1	65.2	60.8	55.6	$19,098	$1,070	$18,028
Dynard Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	23510 Bushwood Rd	Chaptico	20621	St. Mary's County	St. Mary's County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(301) 769-4804	422	24	17.2	39.6%	324 (76.8%)	37 (8.8%)	22 (5.2%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	36 (8.5%)	70.6	250^th of 865 public elementary schools	71.1%		60.8	302^nd of 859 public elementary schools	64.8%	52	47.0	43.8	43.4	44.7	51.5	60.3	51.3	54.4	42.1	$17,408	$1,004	$16,404
Town Creek Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	45805 Dent Dr	Lexington Park	20653	St. Mary's County	St. Mary's County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(301) 863-4044	220	16	13.4	56.4%	114 (51.8%)	42 (19.1%)	32 (14.5%)	4 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (12.7%)	63.3	305^th of 865 public elementary schools	64.7%		61.5	299^th of 859 public elementary schools	65.2%	6	42.6	30.3	40.6	38.4	52.2	53.1	59.4	54.5	37.5	$22,451	$1,023	$21,428
Greenview Knolls Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	45711 Military Ln	Great Mills	20634	St. Mary's County	St. Mary's County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(301) 863-4095	294	24	12.3	57.1%	87 (29.6%)	110 (37.4%)	30 (10.2%)	14 (4.8%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	51 (17.3%)	47.4	427^th of 865 public elementary schools	50.6%		34.5	492^nd of 859 public elementary schools	42.7%	65	54.5	14.6	26.5	31.2	59.1	35.4	51.0	48.2	14.3	$24,270	$2,669	$21,600
Green Holly Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	46060 Millstone Landing Rd	Lexington Park	20653	St. Mary's County	St. Mary's County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(301) 863-4064	478	38	12.4	63.0%	157 (32.8%)	168 (35.1%)	81 (16.9%)	21 (4.4%)	1 (0.2%)	3 (0.6%)	47 (9.8%)	56.9	355^th of 865 public elementary schools	59.0%		59.3	309^th of 859 public elementary schools	64.0%	46	56.6	40.0	32.1	42.9	58.5	40.0	37.7	45.3	25.0	$25,215	$2,575	$22,640

Frequently Asked Questions about Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary

Is Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary a good school?

Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary ranks 108^th of 865 Maryland elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

What is the racial makeup of Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary?

Students at Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary are 72% White, 9% Two or more races, 9% African American, 6% Hispanic, 3% Asian.

What district is Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary in?

St. Mary's County Public Schools

What schools do graduates of Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary attend?

Students who attend Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Leonardtown Middle
High : Leonardtown High

How many students attend Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 516 students attended Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary.

Rate Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary!

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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.