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The Blueprint + Our Community = Student Success.
The success of our nearly 76,000 students is dependent on more than schools, educators, and curricula. We need your dedication, support, and focus to build the new generation of students that are the focus of City Schools’ Blueprint for Success strategic plan.
Beginning in 2022, the Board of School Commissioners and the City Schools administration have set ambitious yet attainable five-year goals in literacy, college and career readiness, student wholeness, and mathematics. To reach those targets, the school system has deployed its resources, human capital, and planning to propel our growth.
The goals are guided by the School Board’s priorities, City Schools’ Blueprint for Success strategic plan, and its Reconnect, Restore, Reimagine post-COVID plan.
We need you to exceed those goals!
This page will give you ideas to support this critical work and transform our school system - and the lives of students – for the better.
Four goals that support the Blueprint by the 2026-27 school year
80%
Increase the student wholeness composite score
40%
Increase the % of students proficient on the MCAP ELA/Literacy assessment
76%
Increase the 4-year graduation rate
25%
Increase the % of students proficient on the MCAP Grade 3-8 and Algebra I assessment
Let's work together: Literacy
What City Schools is doing
- More schools are hosting morning meetings or advisory activities that promote empathy, understanding and active listening
- Expanding our Expanded School Behavioral Health to add more licensed professional counselors and social workers.
- Leading classroom sessions that employ strategies such as mindfulness.
- Conduct parent workshops during PTA meetings to address anxiety, stress and depression.
- Every school will ensure a welcoming, inviting atmosphere for all students and families.
Help more students read at grade level
Increase literacy for generations of studentsMore students in grades 3-8 and grade 10 will raise their scores for English Language Arts on the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP), a key measure of literacy. We’ll set the baseline goal during the 2020-21 school year and grow it – together.
How will we measure progress?
The goal will be measured by performance on the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP)*
Most recent data update
The first survey administration was Fall/Winter 2021 and the districtwide score was 61%
How you can help!
- Join the Raising A Reader program (LINK)
- Visit a SummerREADS site (LINK)
- Visit the Maryland Book Bank (LINK)
- Learn more about the ESOL Family Literacy Program (LINK)
- Access the B'More for Healthy Babies program (LINK)
What’s the historic data say about this?
- Pre-pandemic, the district’s highest state assessment proficiency rate was 19%, the highest increase vs. prior year was +2 percentage points and the average increase was 1.6 percentage points.
- Early Fall MCAP proficiency was 16% reflecting the impact of the pandemic as students were tested based on the prior year’s grade.
- District’s blueprint and R3 investments will support academic recovery and leverage COVID-19 and Kirwan resources to address historical under-resourcing and pandemic effects.
View the full chart >>
How you can help
Steps for parents, students, and the communityParents grades K-5: Ask your student what they experienced during the school day and how it felt. Share parts of your day with them.
Parents grades 6-12: Encourage mindfulness time for students – sit quietly at a designated time and breathe. No devices!
Students: Journal often! Create an outlet for your feelings. AND Tell someone how your feelings, speak your truth, advocate for yourself
Community: Encourage parents and students to know the mental and counseling staff available in their child’s school, the supports they provide and how to access them.
Let's work together: Student Wholeness
What City Schools is doing
- More schools are hosting morning meetings or advisory activities that promote empathy, understanding and active listening
- Expanding our Expanded School Behavioral Health to add more licensed professional counselors and social workers.
- Leading classroom sessions that employ strategies such as mindfulness.
- Conduct parent workshops during PTA meetings to address anxiety, stress and depression.
- Every school will ensure a welcoming, inviting atmosphere for all students and families.
Help students feel more connected to their schools
Use wholeness efforts to provide more emotional supportMore students will enter positive responses to student survey questions related to Student Wholeness
How will we measure progress?
We will create a composite Student Wholeness Score (by percentage) using student survey responses
Most recent data update
The first survey administration was Fall/Winter 2021 and the districtwide score was 61%
How you can help!
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What’s the historic data say about this?
The most recent measure – the 2020-21 beginning-of-year survey – produced a wholeness score of 61 percent. In future years, we’ll use the end-of-year survey given in the spring.
How you can help
Steps for parents, students, and the communityParents grades K-5: Ask your student what they experienced during the school day and how it felt. Share parts of your day with them.
Parents grades 6-12: Encourage mindfulness time for students – sit quietly at a designated time and breathe. No devices!
Students: Journal often! Create an outlet for your feelings. AND Tell someone how your feelings, speak your truth, advocate for yourself
Community: Encourage parents and students to know the mental and counseling staff available in their child’s school, the supports they provide and how to access them.
Let's work together: College and Career Readiness
- More schools are hosting morning meetings or advisory activities that promote empathy, understanding and active listening
- Expanding our Expanded School Behavioral Health to add more licensed professional counselors and social workers.
- Leading classroom sessions that employ strategies such as mindfulness.
- Conduct parent workshops during PTA meetings to address anxiety, stress and depression.
- Every school will ensure a welcoming, inviting atmosphere for all students and families.
Help more students graduate on time
Increase the percentage of students that earn their diplomas in four yearsMore than 76 percent of students in each 4-year high school class (Ex. Class of 2022) graduate within four years.
How will we measure progress?
This goal will be measured by the state’s 4-year adjusted cohort graduation rate
Most recent data update
2021 Maryland School Report Card - 69.2 percent
How you can help!
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- Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing eli (LINK)
What’s the historic data say about this?
City Schools’ graduation rates have fluctuated, in part due to changes in graduation requirements as the state’s assessments have changed and expectations adjusted as students were impacted by the pandemic. The largest 1-year increase of +1.9 percentage points was achieved between 2017 and 2018 and resulted in the district’s highest graduation rate since 2016. Otherwise, the district’s graduation rate has remained relatively consistent between 70.0% and 70.7%.
How you can help
Steps for parents, students, and the communityParents grades K-8: Emphasize the importance of reading. Strong literacy skills are essential for students to find success in their post-secondary pathway of choice.
Parents grades 6-12: Talk with your student about the importance of attendance and passing their courses.
Students: In the spring of your 8th-grade year, visit your high school placement to learn what to expect in 9th grade and the components of a 4-year plan toward graduation.
Community: Celebrate college and career opportunities for students. Host gatherings or recognitions for positive decisions.
Tell us how you can help
The work needed to achieve these goals is ongoing. Tell us what you think and what we can do better. Complete our 3-minute survey today.
Check back starting in June to learn how we'll blend what we learn into this effort.
