Families of Greenbelt Elementary will get a chance to learn more about the school’s academic shortcomings in a meeting planned for 6 p.m. on Thursday, February 27 at the school.
According to an email sent to the school community Sunday by Principal Joel Nelson, Greenbelt Elementary has recently been designated as an Additional Targeted Support and Improvement (ATSI) School by the Maryland State Department of Education.
“This designation means that our school will receive additional support to develop and implement a plan to address areas of improvement,” Nelson wrote in the email.
According to the Maryland Department of Education website, schools are designated as ATSI schools “when one or more student groups perform as low as the lowest performing 5 percent of Title I schools in the state.” A school does not have to be a Title I school to receive an ATSI label.
Student groups considered are racial and ethnic groups, English-language learners, students with disabilities or those who are economically disadvantaged.
Greenbelt Elementary was given the ATSI designation due to poor performance among students with disabilities, Shanna Edmond, director of Title 1 Office of Student Support and Federal Programs, said in an email. To exit the ATSI designation, however, not only does this group need to improve, but other student groups need to have not fallen below the threshold since the school was designated.
The Maryland State Report Card measures of academic progress and achievement at Greenbelt Elementary have seen a marked decline in recent years. The school earned four out of five stars for 2018, 2019 and 2022 (the Maryland State Report Card was not published during 2020 or 2021). In 2023 and 2024, Greenbelt Elementary earned just three stars. The 2024 Report Card noted that only 8.1 percent of Black and African American students were proficient in math, while only 9.5 percent of Hispanic and Latino students were profi-cient in math. That number was less than 5 percent for students with disabilities at the school.
The February 27 meeting will be a chance for parents to ask questions and to learn about the specific ways in which slipping school performance will be addressed.
“Our school improvement team is committed to exiting this designation by the 2026-2027 school year and we invite you as partners in your student’s education to join us,” Nel-son wrote. “During this time of designation and improvement initiatives, we will focus on improving instruction, offering additional learning opportunities such as tutoring and af-ter-school programs, and providing opportunities for parent and family input and involvement. In addition, we will closely monitor student progress and provide expanded counsel-ing and support services to ensure success.”
More information about Greenbelt Elementary’s performance can be found at reportcard.msde.maryland.gov.
Brooke Kenny’s two children attend Greenbelt Elementary School. She is the immediate past president of the Greenbelt Elementary Parent Teacher Association.
