Commodore John Rogers Elementary and Middle School is located in the Butchers Hill neighborhood of southeast Baltimore. The entire staff, of which 30% are Teach For America corps members and alumni, continually strives to create a positive and supportive school community that encourages strong family involvement. In lieu of parent-teacher conferences to discuss report cards, John Rogers holds Student-Lead Conferences three times each year, during which students are required to make 30-minute presentations to their families, detailing their progress and achievement in various subject areas.
The efforts of the community have helped school attendance to increase steadily, from 89% for the 2009-2010 school year to 94% in 2010-2011. Student achievement has also improved significantly over those same two years. The seventh graders at Commodore increased their proficiency from 43% in 2009 to 71% in 2011, while the fourth graders grew from 53% to 81%, demonstrating the incredible efforts of the students and staff at this inspiring school.
Baltimore City College, the third oldest public high school in the US, is established (exclusively for white males). A tradition of producing alumni who perform at the top of business, science, entertainment, and government begins.
Western High School, an all-female and all-white school noted for its academic achievement, is established, becoming a pioneer in women’s education.
The renowned Baltimore Polytechnic Institute (“Poly”) is established to educate future engineers.
Frederick Douglass High School, the second high school for black students in the United States, is established. The school boasts many notable alumni, including Cab Calloway, Thurgood Marshall, and Kweisi Mfume, and remains Baltimore’s only option for black students until 1918.
Courts rule that Baltimore schools violate separate but equal laws based on disparities in college preparation programs. Desegregation begins in Baltimore with black male students enrolling in Poly.
The U.S. Supreme Court hands down the decision in Brown v. Board of Education and Baltimore becomes one of the early adopters of integrated schools in 1956.
The Maryland State Department of Education develops a plan to re-segregate schools through rezoning and redistricting. These efforts, combined with increased availability of private schools and burgeoning suburban communities, result in the return of separate but unequal schools and the Baltimore school system becomes majority black for the first time.
During this 30-year time period, the counties surrounding Baltimore become some of the best centers for education in the United States while less than half of the students entering Baltimore City schools graduate.
The state of Maryland adopts the Thornton Funding Formula, whereby the state commits to increasing the funding for schools using the “geographic cost of education index” which considers factors such as low income population, special education, and ELL students.
Baltimore hires School CEO Andres Alonso from the staff of New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, putting an end to the revolving door of Baltimore City School CEO’s. Alonso arrives with a reform agenda and leads a significant increase in the graduation rate and Maryland State Assessment scores.
Teach For America embarks on an ambitious agenda to double the size of the incoming corps in Baltimore, growing to today’s scale of corps members teaching one in four students in Baltimore.
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