Education and Youth

Indicators featured in the Education and Youth section of Vital Signs describe the characteristics of students who live in Baltimore’s neighborhoods. The data provided by the Baltimore City Public School System (BCPS) include the student home address, indicators detailed below are presented by the community where a student lives, not by the school they attended. This chapter provides indicators for the following areas: 

• Student Officially Enrolled
• Students Ever Attended 
• Student Demographics 
• Student Attendance 
• Student Completion and Withdrawal 
• Youth Engagement 

Data for Vital Signs 22 educational indicators are provided by the Baltimore City Public School System (BCPS) as well as the 2018-2022 American Community Survey (ACS). Indicators are created by normalizing data by the number of children that ever attended a Baltimore City public school during the school year in each area to allow for comparisons across neighborhoods and over time.  ¹   

To ensure consistent communication of these data to communities, analysis of education-related indicators is closely coordinated with BCPS. However, each one of the Education and Youth indicators may not be directly comparable to data provided by BCPS primarily due to methodological adjustments needed to create community-based indicators. For example, students who cannot be matched between data files provided by BCPS and/or students whose home address cannot be geocoded were excluded from the analysis. Therefore, direct comparisons to data and results available through the Baltimore City Public Schools and the Maryland Report Card cannot be made.  ²   

The school system measures enrollment as a census, or complete count, of students registered for school as of September 30 in every school year. The official enrollment count serves as the basis for many school-based resources including per pupil funding for each school.  

From 2020-2021 to 2021-2022, the total number of elementary school students enrolled in public school declined from 29,008 to 27,764. In the 2021-2022 school year, the largest number of students grades 1-5 enrolled in public school lived in Cedonia/Frankford (1,235), Belair-Edison (1,008), Brooklyn/Curtis Bay/Hawkins Point (1,001), and Greektown/Bayview (952). The lowest number of students lived in Downtown/Seton Hill (129), Canton (138), Mount Washington/Coldspring (161), and Cross-Country/Cheswolde (169).  

From 2020-2021 to 2021-2022, the total number of middle school students enrolled in public school declined slightly from 17,421 to 17,278. In the 2021-2022 school year, the largest number of students grades 6-8 enrolled in public school lived in Cedonia/Frankford (709), Belair-Edison (654), Greater Rosemont (612), and Brooklyn/Curtis Bay/Hawkins Point (588). The lowest number of students lived in Downtown/Seton Hill (59), Canton (63), and South Baltimore (78). 

From 2020-2021 to 2021-2022, the total number of high school students enrolled in public school increased from 21,179 to 22,420. In the 2021-2022 school year, the largest number of high school students enrolled in public school lived in in Cedonia/Frankford (1,007), Belair-Edison (925), Greater Rosemont (869). The lowest number of students lived in Canton (31), South Baltimore (64), Downtown/Seton Hill (70). 

Vital Signs 22 also reports students who ever attended the school system at any point in the school year, which is a larger figure than the students who were officially enrolled on September 30. Education indicators throughout this section of the report are normalized using the number of students ever attended. Students who have ever attended represent all the children within the neighborhood who are engaged with the school system and better reflect the level of access to the school system overall.  ³    

From 2020-2021 to 2021-2022, the total number of students who ever attended 1st-5th grade decreased from 28,925 to 27,492. Between those same two school years, the communities that experienced the greatest increases in total number of elementary students ever attended in a public school were Greektown/Bayview (+43 students) and Northwood (+24 students). The communities with the largest decreases in total number of students ever attended were Greater Rosemont (-174 students), Southwest Baltimore (-134 students) and Cedonia/Frankford (-92 students).  

From 2020-2021 to 2021-2022, the total number of students that ever attended in 6th-8th grade decreased from 17,376 to 16,633. Between those same two school years, the CSAs that experienced the greatest increases in total number of middle school students ever attended in a public school were Greektown/Bayview (+37 students) and Southeastern (+32 students). The communities with the largest decreases in total number of students attending were Southwest Baltimore (-84 students) and Southern Park Heights (-66 students). 

From 2020-2021 to 2021-2022, the total number of students ever attended in 9th-12th grade increased from 20,806 to 21,091 Between those same two school years, the CSAs that experienced the greatest increases in total number of high school students ever attended in a public school were Bel-Air Edison (+73 students) and Hamilton Hills (+55 students). The communities with the largest decreases in total number of students ever attended in high school were Harbor East/Little Italy (-44 students) and Glen-Fallstaff (-39 students). The decrease in students in Harbor East/Little Italy may be attributed to the Perkins, Somerset, Oldtown (PSO) redevelopment project in the community, which led to relocation of residents during construction.  ⁴   

The demographic makeup of the public school system in Baltimore is predominantly Black/African American, more so than the composition of the city. Baltimore City is 60.6% Black/African American (see Vital Signs 22 Census Demographics), whereas during the 2021-2022 school year, 75.3% of the students that ever attended in a Baltimore City public school were Black/African American.  

From 2020-2021 to 2021-2022, the percent of non-Hispanic Black/African American students that ever attended Baltimore City Public Schools increased 2.9% from 72.5% to 75.3%. During the 2021-2022 school year, the communities with highest percent of Black/African American students were Greater Rosemont (97.1%) and Greater Mondawmin (96.7%). The communities with the lowest percent of Black/African American students were Greektown/Bayview (9.5%) and Highlandtown (10.6%). 

From 2020-2021 to 2021-2022, the percent of non-Hispanic white students that ever attended BCPS schools declined slightly from 8.7% to 8.6%. During the 2021-2022 school year, the communities with the highest percent of white students were South Baltimore (74.7%), Greater Roland Park/Poplar Hill (65.2%), and Hampden/Remington (60.1%). The communities with the lowest percent of white students were Greater Rosemont (0.9%), Edmondson Village (0.9%), and Howard Park/West Arlington (1.2%). 

From 2020-2021 to 2021-2022, the percent of Hispanic students ever attended increased by 1.4% from 14.2% to 15.6%. During the 2021-2022 school year, the CSAs with the highest percent of Hispanic students were Greektown/Bayview (83.0%), Highlandtown (74.8%), and Southeastern (63.8%). The communities with the lowest percent of Hispanic students were Upton/Druid Heights (1.3%), Greater Mondawmin (1.6%), and Greater Rosemont (1.7%). 

One of the most key factors for ensuring student success is having consistent and routine attendance. Ensuring students arrive at school on time and every day has become a major focus for Baltimore City agencies, school system, and other multi-sector stakeholders.

During the 2021-2022 school year, the percentage of elementary school students in 1st through 5th grades that were chronically absent was 44.7%, an increase of 7.6% the 2020-2021 school year. Cherry Hill (69%), Southern Park Heights (61.7%), Upton/Druid Heights (61.1%) had the highest percentages of chronically absent elementary school students. From the 2020-2021 to the 2021-2022 school year, 20 communities saw an over 10% increase in chronic absenteeism amongst elementary school students.  

During the 2021-2022 school year, the percentage of middle school students in grades 6-8 that were chronically absent was 41.2%, a 1.0% decline from the 2020-2021 school year. The CSAs with the highest percentage of chronically absent middle school students were Cherry Hill (61.3%), Upton/Druid Heights (59.9%), and Southern Park Heights (58.1%).

From the 2020-2021 to the 2021-2022 school year, the greatest increases in middle school absenteeism were in Westport/Mount Winans/Lakeland (+14.1%), Poppleton/The Terraces/Hollins Market (+13.7%), and Canton (+12.1%). The greatest decreases in middle school absenteeism during that same time were in Mount Washington/Coldspring (-16.4%), Downtown/Seton Hill (-13.4%), and Penn North/Reservoir Hill (-10.6%).  

During the 2021-2022 school year, the percentage of high school students in grades 9-12 that were chronically absent was 60.4%, a 4.2% increase from the 2020-2021 school year. Oliver/Johnston Square (74.6%), Oldtown/Middle East (73.7), Upton/Druid Heights (73.5%), and Madison/East End (72.4%) had the highest rates of chronically absent high school students.

From the 2020-2021 to the 2021-2022 school year, the greatest increases in high school absenteeism were in Inner Harbor/Federal Hill (+14.7%), Mount Washington/Coldspring (+13.1%), and Midtown (+12.9%). The largest decline in high school absenteeism during that same time was in Downtown/Seton Hill (-8.8%). 

The Baltimore City School System and numerous other partners, including city government, foundations, and nonprofits continue to focus their efforts on reducing school withdrawals and increasing high school completion. Vital Signs 22 tracks the withdrawal rate of students (9th through 12th grade) and the high school completion rate (for 12th graders only).  ⁵    

Between 2020-2021 and 2021-2022, the percentage of students that withdrew from Baltimore City public schools increased slightly from 3.0% to 3.2%. This rate is still below the high of 4.2%, which occurred during the 2010-2011 school year. In 2021-2022, the CSAs with the highest percentage of students that withdrew before completion were Greater Roland Park/Poplar Hill (34.4%), Madison/East End (5.7%), and Cherry Hill (5.4%).  ⁶    

Between 2020-2021 and 2021-2022, Baltimore City’s high school completion rate for 12th graders increased from 70.4% to 73.6%. The CSA with the highest overall completion rates in 2021-2022 were Canton (100%), Greater Roland Park/Poplar Hill (96.9%), and Fells Point (92.9%). Since the 2009-2010 school year, the high school completion rate has decreased by 4.8%.  

Vital Signs 22 measures youth engagement by measuring the percent of 16–19-year-olds who are in school and/or working using the American Community Survey (ACS).   

From 2013-2017 to 2018-2022, the number of persons aged 16-19 who were either in school and/or employed increased from 87.6% to 90.2%. During 2018-2022, eight communities had 100% of persons aged 16-19 either in school and/or employed: Canton, Fells Point, Greater Charles Village/Barclay, Greater Roland Park/Poplar Hill, Highlandtown, Inner Harbor/Federal Hill, South Baltimore, and Southeastern. The CSAs with the fewest persons aged 16-19 either in school and/or employed were Dickeyville/Franklintown (35.4%), Forest Park/Walbrook (54.5%), and Morrell Park/Violetville (56.9%).