Best Schools in Maryland – 2025

Hello Friends welcome to the Tigerjek, in this post we are going to discuss the Best Schools in Maryland. Maryland is a state in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States of America. Its capital is Annapolis, and its most populous city is Baltimore. Home to Johns Hopkins and a community that was ranked second in the nation for safety, Maryland is a healthy and safe place to live.

A Visual Capitalist ranking similarly places Maryland at #2 in happiness, with a score of 64.67/100—highlighting factors like high residency income and low unemployment. U.S. News Best States places Maryland at #20 in the “Education” category. This reflects a solid education system, though not among the absolute top tier. There are the best schools of the Maryland :-

McLean School-Lochinver Lane Campus

McLean School-Lochinver Lane Campus
Best Schools in Maryland

At first glance, McLean looks like any traditional K-12 school, and indeed, from arts to athletics, we have all the amenities. But look again, and you’ll see students learning their way. Here, the Abilities Model® celebrates each child’s strengths and embeds support for their challenges while encouraging personal growth and providing academic rigor. Their students have an impressive track record of acceptances into great colleges, but more importantly, they have a solid record of success in college and beyond. As one parent observed, McLean is a lifelong gift.

They believe schools should teach the way kids learn. Their Abilities Model focuses on a child’s strengths and builds intellectual curiosity, mastery, resilience, and self-esteem, rather than defining them by what they can’t do. It’s a better way of doing education that serves all students well, and especially bright students who struggle in a traditional classroom setting.

There’s so much to say about what they teach and how they teach it; their rich academic offerings; the big and small ways we support students with diverse learning profiles and interests; Their training in multi-sensory approaches to reading and math; and the research and intention we bring to their work all day, every day. Like their students, they continue to learn.

Experts teaching the way students learn in smaller classes allow us to provide the differentiated instruction students need in order to be successful. As educators, they cherish this flexibility to adapt their teaching methods to the strengths and challenges of the individual student or group. They support students in the classroom rather than pulling them out.

Fairhaven School

Best Schools in Maryland

Students are equal participants in running the school. Fairhaven is a true democracy: a weekly School Meeting made up of students and staff votes on all aspects of the school’s operation, from budgeting to staffing to school rules. Interpersonal conflicts, rule breaking, and other issues of justice are resolved democratically by the Judicial Committee. People learn firsthand what it means to live in a working democracy, with all the freedom and responsibility it entails.

There is no principal at Fairhaven. Students of all ages and staff members have an equal vote in their democratic process. The weekly School Meeting makes all the day-to-day decisions about how the school is run. School Meeting also makes financial decisions and rules about other aspects of the school, including but not limited to the use of the rooms and educational equipment, rules about the conduct of its members, and fiscal decisions. School Meeting is run by an elected Chair and recorded by a Secretary. It elects staff annually, and creates committees and clerkships as needed to carry out its decisions.

One of the most important committees, the J.C. (Judicial Committee) has responsibility for enforcing the rules the School Meeting has established. It is the only committee on which every member of the School Meeting eventually serves (much like jury duty). The J.C. receives written complaints of rule violations (Maya left a mess in the Art Room; Tyler tripped Erin), hears from both the plaintiff and the defendant, calls witnesses and investigates as needed, and then determines whether the defendant has broken a school rule. If so, the J.C. determines an appropriate consequence (Maya can’t go in the Art Room for two days; Tyler must do a half-hour of community service).

The J.C. can refer serious incidents to School Meeting for sentencing, where appeals of J.C. decisions can also be made. Not every dispute goes through the J.C. process, and people may work through problems informally.

To distinguish both the school and its employees from traditional schools, Fairhaven adopted Sudbury Valley’s nomenclature, calling its faculty “staff members” rather than “teachers.” Staff at Fairhaven can play both the administrative and teaching roles found in other schools, but they also wear a variety of other hats throughout each day. Staff can be mentors and role models, coaches and mediators, leaders and listeners, artists and judges.

A deep understanding of the philosophy is critical. Like librarians, staff don’t intrude, providing information and support only when asked. Staff are careful not to push their personal views on students and to be respectful of their autonomy. At the same time, as equal members of a vibrant community, staff add to the richness of the school culture by engaging freely in conversations in their own individual ways.

Maryland International School

Maryland International School
Best Schools in Maryland

Their mission is to provide an academically rigorous and supportive college-preparatory education with an interdisciplinary and applied focus on the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines in order to prepare students to become creative problem solvers, effective communicators, and tomorrow’s leaders who think ethically, independently, and globally. They are conveniently located in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area on a beautiful 9-acre campus in Elkridge, MD.

MDIS is an authorized World School for the International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme (Grades 1-5), Middle Years Programme (Grades 6-10), and Diploma Programme (Grades 11 & 12). We are the only school in Maryland and second in the Mid-Atlantic region to offer all three programmes of study.

The Harbour School | Best Schools in Maryland

Best Schools in Maryland

The Harbour School began in 1982 with the belief that all children can learn and that children learn most when they are taught the way they learn best. They continue to believe that today. Their tremendously supportive environment is hard to beat!

Their students are encouraged and challenged to stretch and reach beyond what they are doing. Because their curriculum involves an individualized education, their students compete with themselves, not with each other. They are rewarded and praised for their achievements and encouraged to try again if they did not meet with success. At The Harbour School, teachers are trained and sensitive to each student’s social and emotional well-being, as well as to the academic needs. Students at Harbour find acceptance for who they are and they are taught to celebrate the difference in others as well.

Their mission is to provide a supportive, caring and individualized education to students with learning disabilities, autism, speech and language impairments and other disabilities in grades one through 12. The program is tailored to meet the individual needs of the child rather than asking the child to adapt to an existing program. The child’s learning style dictates our program. It is their mission to assist each child to attain a feeling of academic and personal achievement and success commensurate with the child’s abilities. Personal achievement includes social and vocational skills.

The Park School of Baltimore

The Park School of Baltimore
Best Schools in Maryland

Devoted to intellectual inquiry, a collaborative spirit of learning, and an appreciation for the diversity of human experience, The Park School of Baltimore is a community founded on positive expectations of our students and respect for individual differences.

The Park school cultivate children’s innate curiosity by nurturing their interests and engaging them as active participants in their own education.The Park school support young people in becoming confident questioners and responsible citizens of the world.

The Park School embodies both in its tradition and in its daily practice three assumptions. First, human beings are capable and desirous of rational self-discipline and of acting towards others with respect, kindness, concern, open-mindedness, and moral conviction. Second, the activity of learning is an expression of positive energies, fulfills natural impulse, and enriches life. Third, authentic learning flourishes when people work, think, and collaborate within a diverse community.

As young people respond to the influence of these ideals, learning to trust and assert their own intellectual and moral powers as they develop, they acquire a sense of confidence in themselves and others, which will inspire a productive adulthood. Since the quality of expectation is most important, the belief that positive expectations produce positive virtues is fundamental to the practice of the school.

The conviction that the child contains inner strength, talents, and powers, which can be liberated and nurtured, allows a variety of educational techniques and methods and is manifested in the school in different ways. Accepting this belief requires recognition of the excesses it may bring: occasional sentimentality, self-indulgence, disorder, and untidiness. Yet it insists that the teacher’s authority as an adult and as a scholar should be used not to suppress or constrain, but to provide the skills, opportunities, challenges, and encouragement to bring about the flowering and fulfillment of the individual to think and act in the world with responsible freedom.

The academic process offers young people a dynamic view of the nature of knowledge and the experiences of learning, and supports their efforts to construct life-affirming meaning. In every area of the curriculum the school encourages substantial student commitment to reading, writing, enquiry, and focused discussion in order to secure the factual knowledge and conceptual structures essential for intellectual competence.

Thus considered, school activities become both ends in themselves and means toward more complex, more difficult ends. But however rigorous, school work need not be alienating or painful, nor need success be measured by comparison to others. Rather, achievement is the result of the use by the child, under proper stimulation and challenge, of the natural powers of mind and body, which in their exercise and application provide pleasure and happiness.

To participate in the life of The Park School requires trust in these good prospects, effort to sustain these positive expectations, and confidence that, under their influence, children will grow to adulthood possessing the power to enact in their lives these beliefs about themselves and others.

It is the objective of the school to be a place where each person is respected and valued, and plain speaking, honesty, and authenticity govern all relationships. By striving to create and maintain a community of diverse perspectives and experiences, the school encourages its students to question their assumptions, develop empathy, and achieve a richer understanding of the world. Such a community inspires young people to develop the capacity to think carefully and act responsibly.

It is the objective of the school to encourage discipline and student behavior based on reason, on a cooperative sense of community, and on a sympathetic understanding of the rights and needs of others. This approach, rejecting arbitrary authority and prescriptive codes, creates opportunities for moral and social growth and allows each student to acquire internalized discipline, autonomy, and self-control.

It is the objective of the school that students become deeply involved in intellectual endeavors and significant extra-curricular activities. In addition to a stimulating, flexible curriculum and a varied program of activities, this objective is supported by a high degree of teacher involvement in advising and counseling students.

It is the objective of the school, through its identity and history as a gender-inclusive, pluralistic community, to prepare students to participate in the public life of a diverse and increasingly interconnected democratic society.

It is the objective of the school that students develop sensitivity to the needs of others, within the school and in the larger community, and that they find personal satisfaction in helping others and addressing social problems.

It is the objective of the school to teach those skills and encourage those traits of character, which enable achievement in a society undergoing constant social and technological change, changes which demand both accommodation and critical scrutiny.

It is the objective of the school to prepare students in the broadest sense, not only for further academic achievement, but also for the continuing process of choosing for themselves from the widest range of possibilities life offers.

It is the objective of the school that these values, reflecting the aspirations and goals of the original founders and benefactors, should be recognized as the central component of its communal life.

—Revised 2009-2010, 2023


The Park School of Baltimore seeks to have a diverse student body and has a non-discriminatory policy as to students. The school does not discriminate against applicants or students on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion

Connelly School of the Holy Child | Best Schools in Maryland

Best Schools in Maryland

Connelly School of the Holy Child is a Catholic, college preparatory school, committed to the intellectual, spiritual, artistic, physical and social development of young women in grades 6 through 12.  The School emphasizes academic challenge, joy of learning and education of well-rounded women of faith and action.  The Holy Child community welcomes students and families of different faiths and diverse backgrounds.  In keeping with the philosophy of our founder Cornelia Connelly, Holy Child values the uniqueness of each individual and fosters a life of service to others.

Ahead of her time, Cornelia Connelly founded the Society of the Holy Child Jesus in England in 1846. As a mother with a deep faith in God, Cornelia believed that education was best accomplished when each student was trusted and cared for.  She also sought to live her life with joy and as “one continuous act of love,” two trademark characteristics of a Holy Child education.  Under her stewardship, the Society prospered and expanded internationally with schools now in North America, Europe and Africa.

Cornelia’s vision for education and her commitment to living a life of love and joy have had a profound impact on the Holy Child community over the past century and a half. Today, Holy Child schools continue to embody her values and mission, and they remain committed to providing a unique and transformative educational experience to students around the world.

At Holy Child, our community allows our girls to explore the world of possibilities and challenge themselves to grow academically, socially, and spiritually as it is an incredibly rewarding and transformative experience. A sense of belonging and support empowers our students to take risks, try new things, and develop the confidence they need to succeed in college and beyond. 

Rockbridge Academy

Rockbridge Academy
Best Schools in Maryland

Rockbridge Academy aim to graduate compassionate young men and women who think clearly and listen carefully with discernment and understanding; who reason persuasively and articulate precisely; who are capable of evaluating their entire range of experience in the light of the Scriptures; and who do so with eagerness in joyful submission to God. Rockbridge Academy desire them to recognize cultural influences as distinct from biblical, and to be unswayed towards evil by the former. Rockbridge Academy aim to find them well prepared in all situations, possessing both information and the knowledge of how to use it.

Rockbridge Academy desire they be socially graceful and spiritually gracious; equipped with and understanding the tools of learning; desiring to grow in understanding, yet fully realizing the limitations and foolishness of the wisdom of this world. Rockbridge Academy desire they have a heart for the lost and they distinguish real religion from religion in form only; and that they possess the former knowing and loving the Lord Jesus Christ. Rockbridge Academy desire them to possess all of these with humility and gratitude to God with Christ ever preeminent.

Rockbridge Academy likewise aim to cultivate these same qualities in our staff and to see them well paid so that they may make a career at Rockbridge Academy. We desire them to be professional and diligent in their work, gifted in teaching, loving their students and their subjects.

Rockbridge Academy desire they clearly understand classical education, how it works in their classroom, and how their work fits into the whole; that they possess a lifelong hunger to learn and grow; and that they have opportunity to be refreshed and renewed. Rockbridge Academy desire to see them coach and nurture new staff and to serve as academic mentors to students. Rockbridge Academy look to see them mature in Christ, grow in the knowledge of God, training their own children to walk with the Lord.

Rockbridge Academy aim to cultivate in our parents a sense of responsibility for the school; to see them well informed about the goals of our classical Christ-centered approach. Rockbridge Academy desire them to grow with the school, involved in and excited about the journey. They aim to help them follow biblical principles in addressing concerns, to be inclined to hear both sides of a story before rendering a verdict, and to embrace the Scripture‘s injunctions to encourage and stir up one another to love and good works.

In our relationship with our community, They aim to be above reproach in our business dealings and supportive of the local business community. They further seek to exemplify the unity of the body of Christ, to develop greater fellowship and understanding with the churches, and to bring honor to our Lord in all our endeavors.

The Boys’ Latin School of Maryland | Best School in Maryland

Best Schools in Maryland

The Boys’ Latin School of Maryland instills the core values of courage, integrity and compassion in each boy as embodied in our motto, Esse Quam Videri (to be, rather than to seem). By understanding how boys learn best, our talented faculty fosters enduring personal relationships and empowers each student to strive for academic and personal excellence.

Boys’ Latin offers a rich and rigorous academic and co-curricular program that prepares young men for the opportunities of the 21st century. The School welcomes students from diverse backgrounds and educates them in a supportive, student-centered environment. Boys’ Latin is accredited by AIMS (Association of Independent Maryland & DC Schools) and a member of NAIS (National Association of Independent Schools) and IBSC (International Boys’ Schools Coalition).

The Boys’ Latin School of Maryland strives to create an inclusive school community serving boys in grades K-12 and to prepare them for the pluralistic society in which we live, work and play.

Reflecting our motto Esse Quam Videri: To Be, Rather Than To Seem, the School fosters an environment in which all members – students, parents and families; faculty, staff and administration; and alumni and friends – feel welcomed and valued for their individual perspective. Boys’ Latin values diversity in culture, family configuration, gender, learning style, race, religion, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status.

Originating from our core values of courage, integrity and compassion, Boys’ Latin strives to create a learning environment where the richness of human experience is recognized, respected and embraced.

On behalf of our entire community, welcome to Boys’ Latin.

 I have served as Boys’ Latin’s Headmaster since 2008, and I am humbled to lead such an extraordinary school. We’re a school with an unparalleled faculty who are experts in their fields, and a student body that focuses on bringing their best, most authentic selves every day.  We’re a community that values close-knit, personal relationships and holds tight even in the most challenging times.

Our faculty will challenge you to reach your full academic potential, all the while honing your character guided by our time-tested values and principles. Our core values – courage, compassion and integrity – are woven into every aspect of school life. That’s because we believe nothing is more important than the development of a young man’s character.  We care most of all about the kind of person your son will be.  That he keeps his word. That he is responsible for himself and his actions. That he has all the habits and skills to become the person he wants to be.

Our collective success in this enterprise is evident in our students, who graduate with the skills, confidence and sense of responsibility to make their mark on the world now and in the future. We are excited to share our School with you, and I encourage you to visit and get to know more about our remarkable institution.

All the best,

CHRISTOPHER J. POST

Al-Huda School

Best Schools in Maryland

The founding members of Al-Huda School realized the need for an Islamic school that could provide a pure and a wholesome religious environment for its students and staff.  The school opened its doors in September 1995 with 26 students in K-2nd grade. In 1997, the school relocated its operations from Silver Spring, MD, to the present location in College Park, MD. By the 5th year, enrollment had climbed to over 300 students in K-7th grade. The school remained a KG through 8th grade school for about 7 years, and then in the Fall 2007, began adding the high school, one grade each year.

The class of 2011 was the first graduating class of Al-Huda High School. Ma shaa Allaah, today the young men and women from that class are successful entrepreneurs, professionals, and fathers and mothers who are bringing their own children to Al-Huda School.

The presence of Al-Huda School in College Park, MD helped formally establish a vibrant Muslim community as Al-Huda families began moving in the vicinity to cut down their commuting time. The school provided a platform for community members to engage in religious and social activities and provided a hub for Muslim civic engagement in College Park and Prince George’s county.

A variety of businesses benefited from being close to the school including restaurants, ethnic grocery stores, gas stations, and clothing stores. The school not only provided religious and educational services during and after school hours but also provided a forum for community families to interact with each other through social and communal events.

Al-Huda School and its activities are attended by people from a 50-mile radius around the school. This includes Muslims from Northern Virginia and the Washington DC area. Following the teachings of Islam and upholding its moral values are integral parts of Al-Huda School. Members represent over forty ethnicities and nationalities. The socioeconomic status of families enrolled at Al-Huda School is as diverse as its ethnic makeup. Blue collar workers, professionals, doctors, as well as business owners make up school’s parent population.

The quality of our staff has continually improved over the years, which greatly improves our ability to garner support for the school from the community at large. The improvements in staff and facilities have also translated into a higher standard of education and learning for the students.

Al-Huda School’s mission is to nurture Allah centric youth to overcome today’s challenges with innovative solutions

Al-Huda School’s mission serves as the central ideology in crafting all programs and initiatives. It is reinforced in daily, weekly and annual activities. Daily reminders about service to Allah and adherence to Islamic ideology serve to reaffirm the faith and mission of the school. Professional development plans are designed to include the spiritual as well as academic needs of students and teachers.

Character education themes are derived directly from the Qur’an and the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Striving to achieve the goals outlined in the mission plays an integral part in the life of Al-Huda School students, teachers, and support staff. The tenets of the school’s mission are emphasized in all parent orientations, meetings, and the weekly school newsletter.

From its inception, Al-Huda School’s goal was to create a school where students can practice faith in its complete form, while enhancing their intellect in all areas of secular knowledge. The Shura (Board) of Dar-us-Salaam – the umbrella organization under which the school operates – had the vision and worked with other members of the community to draft a set of beliefs to serve as a guiding tool for the establishment of its unique school culture.

Severn School | Best Schools in Maryland

Severn School | Best Schools in Maryland
Best Schools in Maryland

Severn School challenges its students to pursue excellence in character, conduct, and scholarship, to marshal the courage to lead, and to contribute to the world around them. We believe this is best realized in a community where adults model these qualities, where a culture of belonging is fostered, and where each student is known and valued.

They believe in an education that uplifts the dignity, self-worth, and potential of everyone to build a community of lifelong learners and leaders. Their values are the heart and soul of Severn School, and they’re the code by which Severn school live.

Severn aspires to be an inclusive community where each person is welcomed and affirmed.  We find strength and value in our similarities and differences thereby inspiring students and adults to participate in and sustain a vibrant exchange of ideas and perspectives.  In designing thoughtful programs and practices, we will broaden a culture of belonging and respect and an appreciation for the complexities within ourselves and others, and foster the desire to participate in a dynamic, global society.

Severn School students are challenged to pursue excellence in character, conduct, and scholarship; to marshal the courage to lead, and to contribute to the world around them. We are forward-thinking and envision a world where education is about more than what you know – it’s about who you are.

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