The Baltimore City School Board voted on Feb. 12 not to renew the contracts it has with a total of six charter and independently run schools, the Baltimore Sun reports, although action on one of the schools is still pending:
- Bluford Drew Jemison STEM Academy Middle School—not renewed, might stay open
- Baltimore Freedom Academy—not renewed, might stay open
- Baltimore Civitas Middle/High School—will definitely close after 2013-14
- Baltimore Talent Development High School—undecided; district to reconsider action
- Collington Square Elementary/Middle School—district will take over
- Montebello Elementary/Middle School—district will take over
In board action, the district said the schools had either failed to live up to the promises made in their original contracts or found themselves in financial trouble, the article stated.
Regarding the Baltimore Freedom Academy, students have stood with Gov Martin O’Malley and Baltimore City Schools CEO Andrés Alonso in support of the school. Staff members were hoping the district would reconsider the recommendation to close the school and instead renew its contract for five years. These hopes were echoed by many students, who said their support system was all in the school.
“We want to see our school continue,” WBAL-TV (NBC affiliate) quoted Paulette Smith, the school’s student life and admissions coordinator, as saying. “We want to see our school get five more years to renew because the voice that’s coming from this building—it would be missed if we are no longer a school, a Baltimore City charter school.”
Academic performance on the state’s standardized tests has declined since the school first opened. On the High School Assessment in biology, for example, 55 percent of students at the school met or exceeded state standards in the 2007-08 school year and 61 percent did so in 2008-09. However, two years ago, that number fell to 34 percent, and last year it was up only slightly to 36 percent.
Grade 6 reading scores have also tumbled in recent years, but eighth-grade scores shot back up last year. One possible interpretation of this is that students coming into the school in sixth grade are improving somewhat after Freedom Academy teachers have them in their classes for three years. But even the eighth-grade scores are low: only 57 percent of the students met or exceeded state standards in reading in the 2011-12 school year.
More complete results are available from the Maryland Report Card. One piece of data that’s hard to miss is the student mobility. Withdrawals shot up at the school two years ago, from 45 students (13.7%) three years ago to 70 (22.4%) in 2010-11 and again to 85 (33.7%) last year. There’s more to a school than data, but the increasing withdrawal rate may indicate that over the years, the quality of education students have received at the school has declined compared to what students seem to want to get out of the school.
The district also said the school didn’t maintain its social-justice theme. A quick review of the charter’s website reveals no music teacher on staff, though the school claims to offer marching band, African drumming, and “Freedom’s Voices Choir” as extracurricular activities. The out-of-date website, which features misspellings on many pages, calls this “a wide range of activities.” Well, if we add “boxing” to the list, there you have it.
There’s some hope in science, however: The school will host a “school-wide science fair” on March 3, though only three science teachers are on staff at the high school and their specialties are not listed. Students can study one foreign language (Spanish), and Advanced Placement courses are offered in only psychology and computer science, according to the website.
At least they have a few good opportunities for these students! After all, it’s not the kids’ fault that school leadership has let them down. We have to hope Dr Alonso can improve things for them, because when it comes down to school reform, we shouldn’t be talking about “school improvement” but rather “student improvement.”
