Baltimore City students return to school looking to continue attendance spike

BALTIMORE -- Baltimore City students celebrated their back to school on Monday looking to continue their progress with attendance. The district saw a 5% increase last year.

The energy at ConneXions Academy was infectious as the day began with two performances for the school district's CEO Dr. Sonja Santelises and Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott.

The school was recognized for its efforts to bring students back to the classroom last year with a double-digit attendance spike.

"It's going to take all of us in the community to push our young people to make sure that they are here on time and ready to learn," Scott said. "We want you to know, guardians, where your children are, not just in the physical sense, but where they are in reading and math. Are they on grade level?"

The ConneXions Academy's 2023-2024 attendance increased by 22.3%.

"Coming out of COVID, we just had a focus on, one re-engaging students, then secondly, keeping them engaged," ConneXions Academy Principal Sidney Brooks said. "And now we're in this place where we had to continue to keep them engaged."

Among other priorities for Baltimore City Public Schools is to find ways to engage the entire family so that students can stay on track in school and life.

"I'm not saying we have arrived, but I am saying, when you're looking at the data, we are on an upward trajectory," Santelises said. "It's one thing to get gains in reading one year, it's another thing though to see that happen every year for the last seven years."

Principal Brooks said his team at ConneXions Academy is doubling down on student engagement post-pandemic.

"At home, they could do reading and ELA, but they couldn't do math," Brooks said. "We're still recovering from COVID, trying to just hone in on this math piece and get that right."

Air conditioning and other changes

The district says 53 schools have brand new bathrooms, all schools have air conditioning or are in line to get new units soon and the district is increasing Advanced Placement and Technical Training courses.

Air conditioning was a major problem a few years ago when more than 75 schools did not have working AC to battle the August heat.

The district also added middle school sports.

"The energy was here"

The excitement level was high on Monday as families dropped off their young students at Harford Heights Elementary School.

"We were just amped," Principal Carnell Woodland said. "The energy was here. We've had music playing, and to see all the families out, it was just a wonderful thing,"