Other / mixed grade configuration · Frederick, MD

Orchard Grove Elementary

Federal NCES profile for Orchard Grove Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 40/100.

2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 240033000807
0/100100/10040/100
👥 S:T ratio
34
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
39
📋 Attendance
18
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Orchard Grove Elementary earns 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 77% of Maryland schools. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most Maryland schools.

#15 of 18
schools in Frederick · Resource Index
40
Resource Index · Typical
16.6:1
large classes for Maryland
44.8%
free-lunch eligible

Orchard Grove Elementary has class sizes larger than 77% of Maryland schools. Computed live against every Maryland school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Orchard Grove Elementary ranks #15 of 18 schools in Frederick, MD.

Enrollment

613

Maryland · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

37.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

16.6:1

vs 14.5:1 Maryland avg

+14% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

44.8%

vs 49.0% Maryland avg

-9% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Orchard Grove Elementary compares with Maryland and U.S. medians

Slightly above state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Orchard Grove Elementary

Orchard Grove Elementary is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Frederick, Maryland, enrolling 613 students.

Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 16.6:1 puts it in the larger third of Maryland schools by student-teacher ratio.

Its free-meal eligibility rate of 44.8% lands close to the Maryland typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.

With 613 students, its enrollment sits close to the Maryland median campus size.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,382 scored Maryland schools.

Against 302 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #161.

Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (33%) and African American (28%), more mixed than most schools in the state (diversity index 76/100).

Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 307 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 32.6% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

The surrounding Frederick County Public Schools spends $14,981 per pupil, 27% below the Maryland average, a leaner-resourced district than most.

Among Frederick's public schools, it stands alongside Waverley Elementary (965 students): Orchard Grove Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (16.6:1 vs 14.8:1).

Frederick County Public Schools also operates Gov. Thomas Johnson High (2,066 students) and Urbana High (1,989 students) alongside Orchard Grove Elementary.

Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25

How Orchard Grove Elementary compares

Orchard Grove Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Maryland and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Maryland Maryland avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 16.6:1 ▲ 14% 14.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 44.8% ▼ 9% 49.0% 51.7%
Enrollment 613 top 39% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

16.6:1
Leaner classes than 33% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
613
Bigger than 74% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
44.8%
free-lunch eligible - 9% below the Maryland average of 49.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
16.6:1
students per teacher - 14% above state mean
Top 77% in Maryland - lower ratio than 23% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
32.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$14,981
per pupil, district-wide - below Maryland avg of $20,446
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 307 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
6
in-school suspensions + 6 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.

Overview

  • Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
  • Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
  • F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.

Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.

Student demographics

Hispanic or Latino 32.6%
African American 27.7%
White 20.9%
Two or More 10.1%
Asian 8.6%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 32.6% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 75.6/100

Simpson diversity index - at 75.6, Orchard Grove Elementary is more mixed than the Maryland school average of 52.3.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Frederick County Public Schools, which includes Orchard Grove Elementary.

$14,981
Per student
-27%
vs Maryland
Avg $20,446
-10%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 50.4%
State 38.3%
Federal 11.2%

Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.

How Orchard Grove Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Gov. Thomas Johnson High Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Urbana High Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Frederick High Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Tuscarora High Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Oakdale High Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Orchard Grove Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Frederick County Public Schools · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar other schools in Frederick

6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.

Similar other schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Maryland, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Orchard Grove Elementary's federal record.

Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.

Frequently asked questions about Orchard Grove Elementary

How many students attend Orchard Grove Elementary?

Orchard Grove Elementary has 613 students enrolled. It is a public school in Frederick, MD.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Orchard Grove Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at Orchard Grove Elementary is 16.6:1, which is 14% higher than the Maryland average of 14.5:1 and 6% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Orchard Grove Elementary?

44.8% of students at Orchard Grove Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Maryland average of 49.0%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Orchard Grove Elementary?

The largest demographic group at Orchard Grove Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 32.6% of enrollment, in Frederick, MD. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 75.6/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Orchard Grove Elementary?

Orchard Grove Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Orchard Grove Elementary rank among schools in Frederick?

By Resource Investment Index, Orchard Grove Elementary ranks #15 of 18 schools in Frederick, MD. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Frederick on the city page.

Is Orchard Grove Elementary a good school?

Orchard Grove Elementary earns 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 77% of Maryland schools. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most Maryland schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.

What other schools are in Frederick County Public Schools?

Besides Orchard Grove Elementary, Frederick County Public Schools also operates Gov. Thomas Johnson High (2,066 students), Urbana High (1,989 students), and Frederick High (1,821 students). See the Frederick County Public Schools district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.