BALTIMORE—Baltimore City Public Schools (City Schools) has posted its second consecutive annual increase in the four-year graduation rate since the pandemic, fueled by significant gains in certain high schools.
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City School's four-year graduation rate improved to 71 %, the highest since 2019. The consistent gains were due to investments in credit recovery, support for 9th-grade students, career coaching, and dedicated post-secondary success teams. The School’s five-year graduation rate also increased to 74 %, the highest since 2020.
“Our efforts to prepare more students for graduation and beyond continue to produce positive outcomes. While overall growth was modest, historically underperforming schools saw significant gains,” said Sonja Brookins Santelises, CEO of City Schools. “We’re on the right path and remain committed to ensuring every graduate is ready for a bright future.”
High school gains drive overall growth.
City Schools’ graduation rate increase is driven by dramatic gains by certain high schools, including campuses earning significant increases over multiple years. Four of the largest high schools continue to surge. Since 2022, Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical High School (+4.7 percentage points), Baltimore City College (+5.3 percentage points), Paul Laurence Dunbar High School (+4.9 percentage points), and Digital Harbor High School (+10.4 percentage points) have posted gains.
Significant gains occur across different neighborhoods and programs. Since the end of the pandemic, the Academy for College and Career Exploration (+15.1 percentage points) and Patterson High School (+14.2 percentage points) have demonstrated clear recovery over two years.
Other schools have leapt forward over the past two years. National Academy Foundation (+14.3 %) and Frederick Douglass High School (+10.2 %) led a list of 11 schools that earned year-over-year gains since the 2022-23 school year.
High school investments in graduation and post-secondary success are key to these outcomes. Successful efforts include Increased credit recovery opportunities throughout the school year, On Track to Graduate support for ninth-grade students, post-secondary preparation and guidance, and an emphasis on daily attendance.
Multilingual learners and Hispanic/Latino students are closing the gap.
Multilingual learners significantly narrowed the graduation rate with their district peers, posting a 13 percentage point jump from the 2022-23 school year.
Hispanic/Latino students posted a similar improvement, raising their graduation rate by 11 percentage points in one year. This is the second-largest student group in City Schools by race/ethnicity. Between SY20-21 and SY23-24, the Hispanic/Latino student group increased by 27%, from 11,093 to 14,103.
Photo: Mergenthaler students look ahead as they get ready to cross the stage at Winter 2025 Graduation.