Baltimore City Schools

Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women is celebrating their graduates even though more than half of them don’t know where they’re going next — or how much it’ll cost.

City school leaders say the transition from traditional metal detectors to Evolv will cut down student wait times and invasive searches.

The four principals who won this year’s challenge use similar strategies: forming teams to review data, rewarding improvement and encouraging staff to connect with students.

Just over 70% of city high schoolers graduated last spring, marking a 2-percentage-point increase from 2022. But the district still has the lowest rate statewide.

Students at Medfield Heights Elementary school spent the week learning about the eclipse. They saw their first — and only — total eclipse in action for at least 20 years.

District leaders said in a town hall that their system surpasses the Blueprint For Maryland’s Future in terms of community schools and pre-K access, but lacks funding for some changes.

These results counter a report from the state’s inspector general of education in 2022, which found over 12,000 incidents of final grades being changed from failing to passing over a four-year period.

School commissioners and district leaders sought student feedback on policies regulating grades and wellness in a forum Wednesday night. The right to in-school deliveries from services like Uber Eats and DoorDash dominated conversation.

District leaders say principals and teachers need more disciplinary power to address rising school violence and behavioral issues. One Baltimore-based nonprofit says meditation does the same — without harming students’ education.

After months of negotiating, district leaders and the local union finalized pay raises for the current school year. But the payment scale system will change completely in July.