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For 6th to 8th grade, students can attend a neighborhood school or choose a citywide school or program.
City Schools is finalizing plans for this year’s Middle & High School Choice process. The Annual School Choice Fair will held at the Baltimore Convention Center on December 3, 2022. Using Campus Portal, 5th grade families will be able to complete and submit their Choice applications between December 1, 2022, and January 20, 2023.
Email: Enrollment@bcps.k12.md.us
Phone: 410.396.8600
Composite scores are needed for students applying to schools and programs with entrance criteria. Typically, composite scores are calculated using grades and standardized test scores. The Spring 2022 MCAP assessment scores will not return in time to be used for the composite score formula. As a result, composite scores will be calculated using only grades for the 2023-24 school year cohort participating in school choice this year.
To calculate your final overall grade average used in the composite score calculation, we will look at students’ final grades for 4th grade. The first quarter grades for the 2022-23 school year will also be used in the calculation.
Choice applications for students will be available on December 1, 2022. Students and families will be able to complete and submit their choice applications between December 1, 2022, and January 20, 2023, in Campus Portal. Additional support to families is available by district staff in the Office of Enrollment, Choice, and Transfers (Enrollment@bcps.k12.md.us) and Multilingual Enrollment and Support Center (MESC@bcps.k12.md.us).
Middle school choice application: English | Spanish (coming soon)
If your child goes to a neighborhood elementary/middle school and you want your child to stay at the school through 8th grade, you're all set. Your child is automatically enrolled at your school.
If you're new to the district and would like to enroll your child in a middle school close to your home, find your neighborhood school and stop by to find out what you need to register.
A few neighborhood elementary schools are "feeder" schools for nearby schools with middle grades. This means that 5th-grade students at the neighborhood elementary school are automatically enrolled in a nearby school for 6th grade. Check with your neighborhood school for more details.
Most charter schools have a different admissions process. Applications for charters are due February 1, 2023. Contact the school for information.
All 5th-grade students can choose their school for 6th grade — and those whose school does not have middle grades and does not feed to another school must fill out the choice application. Options include elementary/middle schools with special academic programming, schools that serve only grades 6 to 8, and combined middle/high schools.
The school choice application is due January 20, 2023. To help students and families figure out what schools might be right for them, there are open houses and a school choice fair every fall, and a "school choice liaison" at every elementary school can answer questions.
Here are some tips to make sure you keep options open and are ready to make the best choice for you:
Students who are in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) programs can participate fully in the choice process.
Some schools that participate in middle or high school choice are ESOL sites; however, services are adjusted as necessary to ensure all English learners are able to participate fully in the choice process.
For more information, contact the school counselor or choice liaison at your school. Additional support to families is available by district staff in the Multilingual Enrollment and Support Center (MESC@bcps.k12.md.us).