Baltimore City Public Schools | |
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Location | |
200 East North Avenue, at North Calvert Street; "Dr. Alice G. Pinderhughes School Administration Headquarters"; Baltimore, Maryland 21218, [1] re-built/renovated/enlarged 1980's, former building of the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, (1912–1967), also former site of the Maryland School for the Blind (1868–1912) | |
Coordinates | 39°18′43″N76°36′46″W / 39.31186°N 76.61281°W |
District information | |
Type | Public |
Grades | Pre-kindergarten–12th grade (high school) |
Established | 1829Baltimore City Council (authorized by General Assembly of Maryland, in an Act of 1827) | by
Superintendent | Sonja Santelises |
Schools | 154 [2] (2022) |
Budget | $1.7 billion [3] (2021) |
NCES District ID | 2400090 [4] |
Students and staff | |
Students | 77,807 [2] (2021-22) |
Staff | 8,593(2021-22) |
Colors | Black and gold (city/state/Calvert family colors) |
Other information | |
School board | Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners (previously (1829) as Board of Commissioners, Public Schools of Baltimore City) |
Teacher union | Baltimore Teachers Union (chapter of the American Federation of Teachers [AFT]; (previously the Public School Teachers Association of Baltimore City [PTSA], founded 1849, chapter of the National Education Association [NEA]) |
Website | www |
Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPS), also referred to as Baltimore City Public School System (BCPSS) or City Schools, is a public school district in the city of Baltimore, state of Maryland, United States. It serves the youth of Baltimore City [5] (in distinction to the separate and "younger" public school system (district) for the surrounding separate county of Baltimore, known as the Baltimore County Public Schools [BCoPS]). Traditionally, however, the Baltimore City Public Schools system has not referred to itself as a "district," as the operation of the schools was synonymous with the city of Baltimore. Its headquarters are located on 200 East North Avenue at North Calvert Street in the Dr. Alice G. Pinderhughes Administration Building. [1]
The local school district that is situated within a county-equivalent level area of an independent city. In 2012, it is currently the fourth largest school system in Maryland. [6] In the 2014–15 school year, the student enrollment is approximately 84,000 students. It also maintains 1 pre-k/kindergarten school, 54 elementary schools, 75 K-8 schools, 7 middle schools, 15 secondary schools, 28 high schools, 1 K-12 school, and 7 alternative programs. [3]
City Schools was part of the Baltimore City Government since 1829, but became separate from the government in 1997 when partial control by the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Board of School Commissioners was ceded to the State of Maryland in exchange for increased funding and an expanded partnership. Now, the Mayor solely appoints the revamped Board of School Commissioners (School Board) that oversees the BCPS system, and which in turn interviews and hires the C.E.O. (Chief Executive Officer) and C.A.O. (Chief Academic Officer). [7] The school system is currently run by CEO Sonja Santelises. [8]
The "Baltimore Association for the Moral and Intellectual Improvement of the Colored People" was an organization that aimed to improve the education of African Americans in Baltimore. It was founded on November 28, 1864 by a group of white men. Operation of its schools was taken over by the city in 1867. [9]
City Schools were desegregated in 1954 following the ruling of the Supreme Court of the United States in Brown v. Board of Education. Limited desegregation had already happened with the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute being forced to admit African-American students on its prestigious "A" course in 1952, as none of the black schools in Baltimore offered an equal or equivalent course. [10] [11]
High schools that have been well known include Baltimore School for the Arts, a public high school that is nationally recognized for its success in preparing students for the arts; Carver Vocational-Technical High School, the first African-American vocational high school and center established in the state of Maryland; Digital Harbor High School, one of the only secondary schools that emphasizes in information technology; Frederick Douglass High School, the second oldest African-American High School in the United States; [12] Lake Clifton Eastern High School; the largest school campus of physical size in Baltimore City; Baltimore City College, the third oldest public high school in the country; [13] Western High School, the oldest public all-girls high school in the nation; [14] and Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, a public high school ranked 36th in STEM in the country in 2019 by Newsweek that shares the second-oldest high school football rivalry with Baltimore City College. [15] [16]
In late 2003, [17] City Schools was discovered to be in a severe fiscal crisis, with a deficit estimated to be anywhere from $54–64 million (depending on the reporting source). As a means of reducing the gap, extensive layoffs of teachers and staff took place and new controls were enacted to ensure that spending was more closely monitored. A loan from the city temporarily ended the deficit and City Schools paid the loan back over a two-year period. Criticism of the system still takes place with regard to the awarding of "emergency" contracts.
In 2011, Baltimore City Public Schools had the second-highest per student cost among the nation's 100 largest school districts according to the U.S. Census Bureau, spending $15,483 per student per year. [18]
In the 2010–11 school year there were approximately 83,634 in the entire school system (non-charter and charter). [19] The projected operating budget for the 2011 school year is $1.23 billion. This suggests that the per student spending including charter schools is $14,707. [20]
From March 1, 2006 to March 4, 2006, City Schools students from high schools across Baltimore City held a three-day student strike to oppose an imminent plan to "consolidate" many area high schools into fewer buildings. The school system asserted that these buildings are underutilized. The students and other advocates assert that the reason the extra space exists in these buildings is because class sizes often are about 40 students per class. Martin J. O'Malley, then-mayor of Baltimore, apparently gave an ear to the students' demands in this latest round of strike actions, fearing it could affect his status with the general public in a gubernatorial election year. The end of March saw a change in the balance of power, with the State of Maryland threatening to take over 11 City schools.
On April 8, 2007 The Baltimore Sun's Sara Neufeld stated in an article that the Baltimore City Public School budget was full of errors.
A recent poll conducted by The Baltimore Sun and Annapolis pollster OpinionWorks July 8–10, 2007 recently revealed Baltimore citizens grim opinion of the system. Asked to grade the Baltimore public schools, 2 percent of respondents gave the system an A; 10 percent gave it a B; 32 percent chose C; 22 percent D; and 20 percent Fail, with 15 percent unsure. If the system were assigned a mean grade-point average based on the poll, it would be a 1.45, the equivalent of about a D-plus". [7]
A December 2010 article in The New York Times characterizes the school system as having improved under the leadership of Dr. Alonso. [21]
A March 2012 article in The Baltimore Sun illustrates how the budget is not being carefully monitored. The severe budget cuts led to a thin staff working overtime, leading to high overtime wage earnings. Along with this, Dr. Andres Alonso's driver earned double his salary in overtime, making his pay in the previous year higher than Governor Martin O'Malley's. [22]
On November 27, 2012, Dr. Andres Alonso announced a 10-Year Plan which, pending approval of the school board, will lead to the closing of four elementary/middle schools following the 2012–2013 school year, as well as the closing of thirteen additional schools over the next five years. The plan also includes proposals for renovating and relocating the schools not being affected by closures. [23]
Maryland is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The state borders Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to its east, and the national capital of Washington, D.C. to the southwest. With a total area of 12,407 square miles (32,130 km2), Maryland is the ninth-smallest state by land area, and its population of 6,177,224 ranks it the 18th-most populous state and the fifth-most densely populated. Maryland's capital is Annapolis, and the most populous city is Baltimore. Occasional nicknames include Old Line State, the Free State, and the Chesapeake Bay State. It is named after Henrietta Maria, the French-born queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland during the 17th century.
Howard County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 334,529. Since there are no incorporated municipalities, there is no incorporated county seat either. Therefore, its county seat is the unincorporated community of Ellicott City. Howard County is included in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of the larger Washington–Baltimore combined statistical area.
Baltimore City College, known colloquially as City, City College, and B.C.C., is a college preparatory school with a liberal arts focus and selective admissions criteria located in Baltimore, Maryland. Opened in October 1839, B.C.C. is the third-oldest active public high school in the United States. City College is a public exam school and an International Baccalaureate World School at which students in the ninth and tenth grades participate in the IB Middle Years Programme while students in the eleventh and twelfth grades participate in the IB Diploma Programme.
The Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, colloquially referred to as BPI, Poly, and The Institute, is a U.S. public high school founded in 1883. Established as an all-male manual trade / vocational school by the Baltimore City Council and the Baltimore City Public Schools, it is now a coeducational academic institution that emphasizes sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). It is located on a 53-acre (21 ha) tract of land in North Baltimore on the east bank of the Jones Falls stream. BPI and the adjacent Western High School are located on the same campus.
Towson High School is a high school in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States, founded in 1873. The school's current stone structure was built in 1949. Located in the northern Baltimore suburb of Towson and serving the surrounding communities of Towson, Lutherville, and Ruxton, it is part of the Baltimore County Public Schools system, the 25th largest school system in the nation as of 2005. Area middle schools that feed into Towson High are Dumbarton Middle School, Ridgely Middle School, and Loch Raven Technical Academy, although students from other areas attend the Law and Public Policy magnet school.
The Peale is a community museum in Baltimore, Maryland, which opened in 2022. It occupies the first building in the Western Hemisphere to be designed and built specifically as a museum.
The Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) is the school district that manages and runs the public schools of Howard County, Maryland. It operates under the supervision of an elected, eight-member Board of Education. Jennifer Mallo is the chair of the board. William J. Barnes has been the acting superintendent since January 2024.
Atholton High School is a high school in Columbia, Maryland, United States and is a part of the Howard County Public School System. The school hosts an Army JROTC program. The school mascot is the Raider.
Hamilton Hills is a mixed-use suburban neighborhood located in the northeastern corner of Baltimore, Maryland. Hamilton Hills represents a section of Hamilton, a larger historic area that includes other neighborhoods in Northeast Baltimore. The neighborhood's borders are Old Harford Road and Harford Road to the east, Echodale Avenue to the south, Perring Parkway to the west and the Baltimore County line to the north. The main thoroughfare in Hamilton Hills is Harford Road, which has been an integral part of the area's history.
Doris M. Johnson High School was a public high school located in the northeast area known as Clifton Park of Baltimore, Maryland.
Baltimore Freedom Academy (BFA) was a Baltimore City middle-high school, located for most of its existence in the Washington Hill neighborhood. Founded in 2003 as a public "innovation school," beginning in 2008 it operated as a charter school. The school was open to students citywide through the Baltimore City Public Schools lottery system. Baltimore Freedom Academy was closed by Baltimore City Public Schools following the 2013 school year.
Baltimore County Public Schools is the school district in charge of all public schools in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It is the 25th largest school system in the US as of 2013. The school system is managed by the board of education, headquartered in Towson. Since July 1, 2023, the superintendent is Myriam Rogers.
Patterson High School is a public high school located in the Hopkins-Bayview neighborhood in Baltimore, Maryland, United States.
Frederick Douglass High School, established in 1883, is an American public high school in the Baltimore City Public Schools district. Originally named the Colored High and Training School, Douglass is the second-oldest U.S. high school created specifically for African American students. Prior to desegregation, Douglass and Paul Laurence Dunbar High School were the only two high schools in Baltimore that admitted African-American students, with Douglass serving students from West Baltimore and Dunbar serving students from East Baltimore.
Adrienne Alease Jones is an American politician who has served as the 107th Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she is the first African-American and first woman to serve in that position in Maryland. She has represented District 10 in the Maryland House of Delegates since 1997.
Desegregation of the Baltimore City Public Schools took place in 1956 after the United States Supreme Court ruled, in the case of Brown v. Board of Education, that segregation in schools went against constitutional law. Desegregation of U.S. schools was part of the civil rights movement. The events that followed desegregation in Baltimore, were important to the civil rights movement across America. Recent scholarship has identified Baltimore's desegregation as an important precursor to the Greensboro sit-ins.
Andrés Alonso was the chief executive officer of the Baltimore City Public School System in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Alonso came to Baltimore from the New York City Public School system in July 2007. He had been deputy chancellor in New York for the year prior to his appointment in Baltimore.
Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census, it is the 30th-most populous city in the United States. Baltimore was designated an independent city by the Constitution of Maryland in 1851, and is currently the most populous independent city in the nation. As of the 2020 census, the population of the Baltimore metropolitan area was 2,838,327, the 20th-largest metropolitan area in the country. When combined with the larger Washington metropolitan area, the Washington–Baltimore combined statistical area (CSA) has a 2020 U.S. census population of 9,973,383, the third-largest in the country. Though the city is not located within or under the administrative jurisdiction of any county in the state, it is considered to be part of the Central Maryland region, together with the surrounding county that shares its name.
Brandon Maurice Scott is an American politician serving as the mayor of Baltimore, Maryland, since 2020. He was the president of the Baltimore City Council from 2019 to 2020, having been elected to the position to replace Jack Young following Catherine Pugh's resignation, as well as a member of the Baltimore City Council from the second district from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, Scott was a candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Maryland during the 2018 Maryland gubernatorial election, in which he ran on a ticket with Jim Shea.
City Neighbors High School is a public charter high school located in the Glenham-Benhar neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Opened in 2010, City Neighbors High was the third school launched by the larger City Neighbors Foundation program, a Baltimore-based charter organization. The school operates as a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation under the name "City Neighbors High School Inc."
Archived information on the city system's planned closures, the proposed state takeovers and past financial problems.
Baltimore Second in Per Pupil Spending, Census Says.
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Archived City school board adopts $1.23 billion budget.