Annual Review

City Schools’ primary goal is to make sure that every student has high–quality educational experiences that support their learning and their personal growth where our students will thrive and graduate from our high schools with the skills, knowledge, and understanding to succeed in college, careers, our community and wherever their dreams will take them.  

For over a decade, City Schools has used a “portfolio” strategy to review, discuss, plan, and implement recommendations for physical and programmatic developments that best foster student learning and professional growth and have called this process “Portfolio Review.”

Words can be important indicators of what we value. While numeric data is an important component, consideration of the qualitative and lived experience of our school communities is essential to co-create quality schools for every child. Given we value a holistic approach, we have decided not to call this process “Portfolio Review” any longer and are calling it the “Annual School Review.” We have also continued to expand and shift the review process to be more inclusive and centered in the communities we serve. Please read the Annual Review Report linked below to learn more about this.

The Annual Review results in a set of recommendations to the Board of School Commissioners each fall that can include: 

• Creating new traditional schools
• Relocating schools
• Changing grade configuration at schools
• Renewing contracts or charters for schools run by external operators
• Amending the 21st Century Schools Buildings Program
• Closing schools

To see this year’s recommendations, please review the summary table below and select the Annual Review Report link for details on this year’s process, ongoing work of the district that impacts all of our schools, and reports for COMAR recommendations (or recommendations that are for closure, surplus, or relocation). 

On February 14, the Board of School Commissioners voted on the 2022-23 Annual Review Recommendations Report. A summary of the recommendations and votes appears below. To learn the details about the recommendations please review the full report linked above or each school’s individual report linked in the table below. Please see letters communicating different parts of the process and other ways for school communities to engage.   

In March, if necessary, the Board will issue a written report documenting any COMAR decisions to surplus buildings if approved at the February 14 meeting.  For COMAR decisions, members of the public can appeal in writing to the Maryland State Board of Education within 30 days of the final COMAR report being issued. Both will be shared on this website, and copies of the written report will also be available at each of the schools approved for closure named below. 

Some key dates for the operator renewal process have changed due to a later than expected release of data from the Maryland Department of Education. Please see https://www.baltimorecityschools.org/renewal for more information.

• Operator renewal recommendations were announced at the public Board meeting on February 14.
• The operator work session, where operators will have the opportunity to present to the Board, will be held on February 16. The work session was originally scheduled for January 26.
• The Board will vote on operator renewal recommendations at a special Board meeting on February 23. The vote was originally scheduled for the February 14 Board meeting.

The Annual Review process includes reviews of our traditional schools and their facilities, as well as operator renewal, which is a review of the contracts for schools run by outside entities, including charter, transformation, and contract schools. Learn more about operator renewal.

Starting in November, all Board meetings will be hybrid meetings with limited opportunity for in-person attendance. Please check the Board's webpage for call-in information to observe the meetings and how to find out if in-person seating is available.

2022-23 Recommendations

Updated May 2, 2023