BALTIMORE — 5 On Your Side is Searching for Solutions in Baltimore. There, city schools are faced with several challenges, similar to what St. Louis public schools battle. This includes declining enrollment and low test scores. Baltimore Public Schools are taking non-traditional approaches to turn things around.
They say if you want different results, you have to do things differently. At Baltimore's John Ruhrah Elementary/Middle School, teachers and staff are thinking outside of the box, to remove the obstacles that have boxed them in.
“We have a lot of students who are two or more grade levels below,” Principal Mary Ancinec said.
Because there's a big influx of Spanish-speaking students who don't speak English well or at all, last school year Ruhrah started offering what's called dual-language instruction. Pre-K and kindergarten students who opt in, learn how to read and write in Spanish first, no matter their native language.
"We have Pre-K students who are able to read very, very simple words, just sound them out and read them, which is very different and they’re very successful and you can see it on them and you can see it in our reading data too,” Ancinec said.
After introducing this new way of teaching, things started to shift.
"When we tested our kindergarten class, the dual-language class, we had no one that showed up as being below level …Everyone still has to be successful in English, but they also have to be successful in Spanish,” she said.
80% of instruction is done in Spanish.
"You can use one language to unlock another language,” Ancinec added.
It's a gradual rollout. Next year, first graders will be added to the mix. By the time the program rolls out to third graders, 50% of instruction will be done in Spanish. The other 50% is in English.
There's also a citywide effort in Baltimore that transforms the thinking of what happens when students leave middle school.
"In Baltimore City, we don't have zoned high schools. What we have is a high school choice process,” said Tina Hike-Hubbard of Baltimore Public Schools.
That means by the time every student reaches eighth grade, they begin researching where they want to attend high school. Each school offers specialties, such as math and science, automotive and culinary skills or the arts.
"It's almost like we have all magnet schools,” Ancinec said.
All students have to apply and then be accepted into high school.
"It's been a way for us to increase our ninth-grade enrollment significantly over time because people are having a choice over what high school they attend,” Hike-Hubbard said. She adds it puts the onus on principals to get into the community. "Every single one of our schools gets a per-pupil allotment for every single student they have, which also incentives our principals to increase enrollment because they get more resources and more dollars in the door if they have more kids coming in their doors."
"The one problem is now, I've run out of room,” Ancinec said.
At Ruhrah, students are staying. The principal believes it's due to an intentional effort to meet the needs of the whole student, with the help of community partners.
"They literally pull up in a little van. They have the whole optometrist and ophthalmologist, everybody's there. The kids get two pairs of glasses, 'cause every kid breaks a pair,” she said with a smile.
Year-round food banks, diaper giveaways, vision and dental screenings complement everyday learning.
"We want to make sure their children are whole and happy so when they come here, they can actually access the instruction that we’re giving them. You can't do that if you’re hungry. You can't do that if you're sick,” she said.
Next week, 5 On Your Side will explore the idea of keeping youth engaged when they're not in school. Community initiatives in Baltimore are getting a boost from public tax dollars. Find out how every city tax-payer is helping fund programs to keep young people out of trouble.