Baltimore has a demand for its top educator: Give all public schools a fighting chance

Overcrowded classrooms. Unsafe rides to school. Buildings with mold.

Those are some of the “hard truths” students, parents and educators brought to Baltimore City Public Schools CEO Jermaine Dawson during his first 100 days on the job, according to a report released Wednesday.

That report boils down what Dawson has heard from roughly 1,500 people since July through nine community listening sessions and a survey.

They said they needed a universal standard of excellence, dependable ways to get to and from school and “safe, orderly” classrooms with comfortable temperatures. They want steadier support for students with disabilities and kids learning English and to preserve options like apprenticeships and dual-enrollment courses.

They also don’t want to feel like they’re picking between “good” and “bad” schools under the district’s universal choice program. They want well-funded, strong options across the city.

“Baltimore wants a great school in every neighborhood, a place where every child feels safe, known, and challenged, where educators feel respected and supported, and where every graduate leaves with real choices: employment, entrepreneurship, enrollment, or enlistment,” Dawson said, according to the report. “That future is not distant.”

Dawson outlined several immediate actions he’ll take to alleviate the community’s largest concerns, including reviewing class sizes, updating staff directories so parents always know who to contact, and addressing the “unreliable buses, long rides, and confusion” that plague students traveling to and from school.

The rest of the solutions are still to come. At a press conference at Graceland Park/O’Donnell Heights Elementary/Middle School in Southeast Baltimore on Wednesday, Dawson said an almost 250-person transition team will review the responses he’s collected and make recommendations for how the district should move into the future.

Dawson is immediately focused on reducing chronic absenteeism, retaining more kids as they transition from ninth to 10th grade and boosting high school graduation rates. He’s previously pledged that higher achievement, not just progress, is the new “North Star” for Baltimore public schools, where steadily improving test scores still lag behind those in the rest of the state.

Dawson wants to add specialized programming, like STEM and arts programs, to more schools and expand the district’s after-school, weekend and summer programming. The district will also recruit more college students to train and mentor younger kids.

Across the board, Dawson said, parents want higher standards for their schools.

“Parents don’t want us to just focus in on our flagship schools,” Dawson said on Wednesday. “They want to make sure that the same opportunities are given in some of our other areas throughout the city, and that it is consistent for young people who may not be able to get into some of those schools.”

About the Education Hub

This reporting is part of The Banner’s Education Hub, community-funded journalism that provides parents with resources they need to make decisions about how their children learn. Read more.