West Baltimore elementary school, two charters recommended for closure

A West Baltimore elementary school with declining enrollment and a pair of charter schools struggling with standardized test scores are in danger of closing after this school year.

District administrators at Tuesday's board of school commissioners meeting recommended Edgewood Elementary as well as Creative City Public Charter School and Southwest Baltimore Charter School shutter this summer.

Students at Edgewood in the Fairmount neighborhood would be rezoned within a mile of home for either Gwynn Park or Windsor Hills elementaries, according to a presentation from Angela Alvarez, director of the district's office of new initiatives, to the school board Tuesday night.

Edgewood's enrollment has dropped from 178 in the 2020-21 school year to a projected 134 next school year, according to the presentation. In 2006-07, the school had 327 students.

Tuesday night the school board began an annual process of reviewing charter schools up for renewal. This year 18 of the district's 31 charter schools, which are publicly funded but operated by private nonprofits, are seeking renewal of their charter from the school board.

The district mostly recommended three, five and eight-year renewals of charters, but Creative City Public Charter School in Northwest Baltimore's Towanda-Grantley neighborhood and Southwest Baltimore Charter School in the Washington Village/Pigtown neighborhood were recommended for closure in Alvarez's presentation.

Creative City opened in 2013 and enrolls 210 students from prekindergarten to fifth grade. The district said in the presentation the school's state standardized test scores "are below the median proficiency of schools of similar poverty."

Southwest Baltimore Charter School opened in 2005 and enrolls 365 students between prekindergarten and eighth grade. The district's fourth and fifth grade math and reading scores around 27th percentile, the district said in the presentation.

Tim Smith, the school's executive director, said during the meeting's public comment period that Southwest Baltimore Charter School has been celebrating 20 years this school year and over the years has invested around $2.5 million in its facilities.

"I along with our entire community am disappointed and sad with the recommendation," Smith said. "Our number one priority is to keep a school open in our location and operating for the community in Southwest Baltimore."

The board will vote on the school closures Jan. 14.