Baltimore City Public Schools take steps to combat rise in dropout rate
The Maryland State Department of Education says Baltimore City Public Schools has a 20.8% dropout rate, as compared to the state's average of 9.87%.
Reasons for the increase in dropouts
Baltimore City Schools says the dropout rate is seeing a spike because of the COVID pandemic, adding that students who began high school during the pandemic were not receiving as many wrap around services through virtual learning.
District officials called this a "surge" and the state's data show the trend has been increasing since 2021, when the district's dropout rate was 12.51%.
"We recently saw a surge, and so when we backwards mapped that to the students who were in high school or entering high school during that time… Those students that came in virtually their ninth-grade year to not get a similar experience," said Dr. Taniisha Swinton-Buck, the deputy chief academic officer for Baltimore City Schools. "The things that they miss, we had to bring that into their experience once they got to in-person learning."
As compared to other districts in central Maryland, Baltimore City's dropout rate is the highest. However, City Schools note that many families in the district need additional services and supports to get their child through school.
Baltimore County has the second highest dropout rate in central Maryland at 12.18%. Anne Arundel County has a 7.39% dropout rate, and Harford County's sits at 5.71%. Both Howard and Carroll County's dropout rates are below 5%.
What is the district doing to improve?
In Northwest Baltimore, Principal Ninia Mouzone began working at Forest Park High School during the pandemic.
She says her administration focused first on ninth graders, implementing the "On Track to Graduate" program, which provide educational, emotional, and career wrap around services to students.
She's since expanded this approach to the entire school.
"We do whatever we have to do to make sure that our kids understand what success looks like and have a plan to get there," Mouzone said. "When I arrived, 33.3% of our freshmen were not matriculating to 10th grade without needing to remediate credits. As of last year, 82.7% of those freshmen became 10th graders without incident."
Mouzone says she is ecstatic about the turn around her school has seen in six years. Her school uses psychologists, counselors, and career advisors to work with students.
City Schools say the first six months of ninth grade is a critical time where the district tries to provide wrap around support for the student. It also says engaging families and caretakers is needed to ensure students stay in school.
As more state dollars are allocated to school districts, City Schools say post-COVID it has only ramped up its supports which include community site specialists and credit recovery programs.
The district says its goal is to break the dropout cycle and give students a brighter future after high school.
"When people talk about Baltimore City, I want them to know that we are working hard and diligently to make sure that our students and families have what they need, regardless of the other spaces that have not always needed expectations in supporting them," Swinton-Buck added.
