Fort Garrison Elementary vs Oliver Beach Elementary

Fort Garrison Elementary and Oliver Beach Elementary sit just 0.1 points apart in overall rating — 9.3 versus 9.2 out of 10 — but that near-tie masks meaningful differences underneath. In Maryland's statewide ranking of 1,363 schools, Fort Garrison Elementary lands at #26 while Oliver Beach Elementary places at #33, meaning both schools rank in the top 3% of the state. Parents choosing between them are not choosing between a strong school and a weak one; they are comparing two of Baltimore's highest performers.

The sharpest academic divergence sits in the academic score: Fort Garrison Elementary posts a 9.9 out of 10 versus Oliver Beach Elementary's 9.3 — a 0.6-point gap that reflects measurably higher current proficiency levels. Oliver Beach Elementary, however, edges ahead on growth: its 9.5 growth score outpaces Fort Garrison Elementary's 9.1, suggesting that students at Oliver Beach are gaining ground at a faster rate relative to their starting points. Families who prioritize raw attainment will lean toward Fort Garrison; those who weight year-over-year student progress will find Oliver Beach's trajectory compelling.

The schools differ notably in size and socioeconomic composition. Fort Garrison Elementary enrolls 286 students compared to Oliver Beach Elementary's 149 — nearly twice the enrollment — though student-teacher ratios are virtually identical at 13.6:1 and 13.5:1 respectively. The free and reduced-price lunch rate diverges more substantially: 22% at Fort Garrison Elementary versus 43% at Oliver Beach Elementary, indicating that Oliver Beach serves a higher share of economically disadvantaged families. Both schools cover the same grade span, prekindergarten through fifth grade, and sit 18.8 miles apart within Baltimore.

Program and grade structure are equivalent — both run PK–05 with no differentiation in the data — so the choice comes down to the academic-versus-growth tradeoff and the community demographics each family prefers.