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 (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 usually never 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.
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. 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.
History
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"). The school system is currently run by CEO Sonja Santelises.
Desegregation
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.
High schools
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.; 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; Western High School, the oldest public all-girls high school in the nation; 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.
Criticism and recent developments
In late 2003, 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.
In the 2010–11 school year there were approximately 83,634 in the entire school system (non-charter and charter). 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.