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Baltimore

Schools

The Baltimore City Public School System (BCPSS) serves over 82,000 children and employs more than 12,400 teachers, school-based administrators, and support staff. It is the 30th largest urban school system in the nation. BCPSS faces challenges similar to those of many urban districts around the country. Student achievement lags behind that of schools in the suburbs. Only 24 percent of eighth graders received a score of proficient or better on the 2007 Maryland State Assessment (MSA) for mathematics. Sixty-three percent of 10th graders did not meet grade level standards in reading on the 2006 MSA. BCPSS faced additional challenges in 2004, including a major budget crisis and the administrative task of implementing the No Child Left Behind Act.

Currently, 154 Teach For America corps members and more than 100 Teach For America alumni are working side-by-side with dedicated veteran teachers and administrators to empower students to achieve at higher levels in Baltimore City schools. Teach For America's teachers made impressive strides in student achievement during the 2006-07 school year. Sixty percent of Baltimore corps members participated in or led extra-curricular activities for students at their schools. A group of middle school teachers started an inter-school chess league, and corps members coached the Baltimore Urban Debate League teams. Eleven Teach For America • Baltimore alumni are now school principals or district leaders, and three have won Fulbright Memorial Fund Awards to study with public school instructors abroad.

 

At a Glance

School Districts
Baltimore City Public School System

Maryland State Department of Education

Ethnic-Breakdown-Student Population
88% African-American
9% Caucasian
2% Latino/Hispanic
<1% Asian-American
<1% Native American
N/A Other

Ethnic-Breakdown-Baltimore
66% African-American
32% Caucasian
2% Latino/Hispanic
<1% Asian-American
<1% Native American
1% Other

Percentage of Students Qualifying for Free/Reduced-Price Lunch
85%

Placements
28% elementary
72% secondary
90% teach at a school with another corps member or alumnus
1-12 grade level placements: -general subject elementary -specific subject secondary -Although Teach For America • Baltimore does not place corps members in traditional special education classrooms, some corps members teach students with special needs in inclusion classrooms.