Howard County, Maryland is a suburban community of more than 330,000 situated midway along the Baltimore-Washington corridor. It is a county of contrasts — a blend of old and new, urban and rural, historical and progressive. The county’s borders encompass Ellicott City, one of the country’s oldest towns, and Columbia, a planned community conceived and designed more than 55 years ago by The Rouse Company.

A great community deserves great schools, and the Howard County Public School System is a recognized source of local pride. The school system consistently ranks among Maryland’s top school districts based on student performance on state assessments. Howard County students score above the national averages on standardized tests.

Read more about us and our graduating students:

• HCPSS 2023 Performance Report
• 2023 Fast Facts About HCPSS
• Class of 2023 Profile

Vision

Every student and staff member embraces diversity and possesses the skills, knowledge and confidence to positively influence the larger community.

Mission

HCPSS ensures academic success and social-emotional well-being for each student in an inclusive and nurturing environment that closes opportunity gaps.

Four Overarching Commitments:

• Value: Every HCPSS stakeholder feels happy and rewarded in their roles and takes pride in cultivating the learning community.
• Achieve: An individualized focus supports every person in reaching milestones for success.
• Connect: Students and staff thrive in a safe, nurturing and inclusive culture that embraces diversity.
• Empower: Schools, families and the community are mutually invested in student achievement and well‑being.

Additional Information

78 Schools FY25

• 42 elementary schools
• 20 middle schools
• 13 high schools
• 1 preK-12 school
• 2 education centers
• Currently, HCPSS has no charter schools.

Total Enrollment – 57,633*

• Elementary (Pre-K-5) – 25,987
• Middle (6-8) – 13,129
• High (9-12) – 18,254
• Special Schools – 263

*Official count from September 30, 2023

Race/Ethnicity FY24

• Asian – 23.7%
• Black/African American – 24.8%
• Hispanic/Latino – 13.9%
• White – 30.3%
• Other – less than or equal to 5.0%
• Two or more races – 6.8%

Students Receiving Special Services FY23

• Free/Reduced-priced Meals – 30.2%
• Multilingual Learners – 7.2%
• Special Education – 11.1%

Attendance Rate FY22

• All Grades – greater than or equal to 93.5%

Gifted and Talented Program FY23

Percentage of students who have participated in a wide variety of Gifted and Talented Education Program offerings:

• K to 5 – 67%**
• Grades 6–8 – 59%
• Grades 9–12 – 70%

** Primary Talent Development programming delivered to all students in K–Grade 1.

Graduation Rate FY22: 94.59%*

*4-year adjusted cohort

Class of 2023

• 52 National Merit Finalist scholarships

Per Pupil Budgeted Expenditure FY24

• $107.94 per day/$19,430 per year

Operating Budget FY24

• $1.1 billion

Capital Budget FY24

• $109.1 million

Our Staff

• 4,934* classroom teachers, 79% of whom hold a master’s degree or above
• Total staff: 9,177

Data as of 10/15/23. Includes staff on long-term leave.
*Does not include vacancies (available to fill or unallocated) as of 10/15/2023).

Staff Diversity*

• Total Staff – 32%
• New Teachers – 30%
• School Administrators – 34%

*Proportion self-identifying in minority groups. Employees not declaring race/ethnicity are reported to MSDE as “all races/ethnicities.” They are represented in these figures as diverse.

Our Classrooms

Class Size Targets

• Kindergarten – 1:22 with an upper range of 23
• Grades 1–2 – 1:20 with an upper range of 24
• Grades 3–5 – 1:26 with an upper range of 30 Title 1 and 31 non-Title 1
• Middle – 1:19.8 with an upper range of 33
• High – 1.21.1 with an upper range of 33

Ratio of devices to students

+ as requested
*Number of devices are equal to the PreK–2 largest grade level, and are shared by those three grades, as needed.