Thoughts on our circumstances...: Baltimore: A budget deficit and a deficit in learning - Little Johnny still can't read and he can't do math

Saturday, September 30, 2023

Baltimore: A budget deficit and a deficit in learning - Little Johnny still can't read and he can't do math - American exceptionalism at its finest

Editor's note: Do you live in Baltimore? Do your children go to school in the public school system of Baltimore? In 2021 Baltimore City Public Schools reported 1,467 employees making more than $100,000 per year; by comparison the average salary was $73,507. The highest reported pay for the school was $445,000 (including perks buried in her contract) for Sonja Santelises (Sonja here is a "chief of change"), Chief Executive Officer. Baltimore City Public Schools in 2021 ranked 222nd in the nation among highest paying schools and 1,116th in the nation for overall highest paying employers. In 2017 the Baltimore public school distract had a $130 million budget deficit. Now there are two deficits including a deficit in children not learning anything. Santelises has been on the job there in Baltimore since 2016. What's the track record considering her over-inflated resume states she "specializes in improving achievement among low-income students, and particularly low-income students of color." Many of these "students" coming out of the Baltimore public school system go on to careers in gun slinging and careers in crime.

Baltimore City Schools CEO earns nearly $445,000 due to perks buried in contract
________

Source: Legal Insurrection

Study Finds Shocking Lack of Proficiency in Math at Baltimore Public Schools

"When you have this much of a ringing failure in your school, it should cost somebody their jobs."

by Mike LaChance | September 27, 2023 | 107 Comments

We have documented serious issues at Baltimore public schools in reading and math.

A new study shows that little has changed. In fact, things are getting worse.

FOX 45 in Baltimore reports:

At Baltimore's five best high schools, 11% of students tested proficient on state math exam

Project Baltimore has made more stunning findings after obtaining the unredacted state test scores for every school in Baltimore City.

The test scores have not yet been released to the public, but Project Baltimore has been analyzing them. The results are hard to believe, even at the highest-performing schools in the city.

Earlier this week, Project Baltimore reported on 13 Baltimore City High Schools, where not a single student who took the 2023 math exam in the spring scored proficient. Not one. The report sparked a strong reaction in the community.

"I can't tell you how horrible that is," said Bryan Nehman, reacting to the report Tuesday morning on WBAL radio's C4 and Bryan Nehman Show.

"This is when people get fired," said C4. "When you have this much of a ringing failure in your school, it should cost somebody their jobs."

The Daily Mail reports on the other finding mentioned above:

Fury as ZERO children at 13 Baltimore state schools pass math exam – as parent groups call on leaders to step down

A slate of Baltimore schools have sparked outrage after zero students passed their state math exams – with almost 75 percent testing at the lowest possible score.

The poor performances came in the latest round of Maryland’s state testing, where 13 high schools in the city – a staggering 40 percent – failed to produce a single student with a 'proficient' score in math.

‘This is educational homicide,' said Jason Rodriguez, deputy director of Baltimore-based nonprofit People Empowered by the Struggle, to Fox Baltimore.

The activist said there is 'no excuse' for the failure, which has come after years of warnings over the city’s poor education standards.

It also comes days after a scathing new study found that schooling across America fell to dire lows during the pandemic, concluding that one-third of fourth and eighth grade students can't even read at a 'basic' level.

Here's a video report: