Summary:
In zip code 20602, located in Waldorf, Maryland, there is one high school, St. Charles High School, which serves grades 9 through 12 as part of the Charles County Public Schools district.
St. Charles High School is a large school with 1,617 students and a student-teacher ratio of 16.8:1. The school faces significant academic challenges, ranking in the 23rd percentile statewide (175th out of 227 schools) and earning a 1-star rating. Math proficiency is critically low, with only 5.7% of all students proficient, compared to 17% in the district and 27.1% statewide. English Language Arts proficiency is 36.8%, below the district average of 45.6%. However, the school shows a notable exception in Algebra II, where its proficiency rate of 12.9% actually exceeds the district average of 10%, suggesting that students who reach this advanced course may be a more select group. The graduation rate is 89.4%, slightly below the district average of 90.3%, and the dropout rate is 5.3%.
The most pressing issue at St. Charles High School is its chronic absenteeism rate of 38.9%, which is nearly 1.5 times higher than the district average of 26.6% and likely a major driver of the low academic performance. Over half of the students (50.28%) qualify for free or reduced lunch, indicating a significant population from low-income households. The school spends $16,666 per student, a substantial amount that is not translating into strong outcomes, suggesting that resource allocation or deeper socioeconomic and attendance issues need targeted interventions. While the school showed a glimmer of improvement in ELA in 2024-2025, where its proficiency was actually higher than the district average, the subsequent drop in 2025-2026 is a point of concern.
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