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Baltimore Community Schools: Promise & Progress

Year Published: 2016

This evaluation found that during the 2014-15 school year, students participating in Baltimore Community Schools’ out-of-school time programs saw improvements in their school day attendance and a significant decrease in being chronically absent from school. However, no effect was found on students’ reading or math Partnership Assessment of Readiness for College and Career (PARCC) scores.

Keywords: Local Urban Title 1 Eligible High Poverty English Language Learners Populations of Color Attendance & Behavior

Program Name: Baltimore Community Schools

Program Description: First established during the 2012-13 school year, a partnership between the Mayor of Baltimore City, Baltimore City Public Schools and the Family League created 37 community schools working with 48 out-of-school time programs. Based on the Family League community school model, in addition to academics, Baltimore Community Schools offers students and families a variety of supports depending on the community’s need—such as food pantries, mental health services and job training—through a network of community partnerships. During the 2015-16 school year, the number of Baltimore Community Schools totaled 51.

Scope of the Evaluation: Local

Program Type: Afterschool

Location: Baltimore, Maryland

Community Type: Urban

Grade level: Elementary School, Middle School

Program Demographics: Among pre-kindergarten through 8^th grade students participating in the Baltimore Community Schools’ out-of-school time programs, 96 percent were eligible for the free and reduced price lunch. More than half of participants in the out-of-school time programs (53 percent) were girls. Eighty-eight percent of students were African-American and 10 percent of students were Hispanic. Sixteen percent of students were designated as special needs and 5 percent were English language learners.

Program Website: http://www.baltimorecityschools.org/Page/24452

Evaluator: Durham, R. E. & Connolly, F. Baltimore Education Research Consortium.

Evaluation Methods: Data gathered from the Baltimore City Public Schools district office and the Family League of Baltimore included student demographics, school day attendance, Partnership Assessment of Readiness for College and Career (PARCC), student survey responses on teacher practices, teacher survey responses on school environment, and parent surveys. Data on student enrollment and attendance in the out-of-school time programs for 3,289 students were gathered from the Family League.

Evaluation Type: Quasi-experimental

Summary of Outcomes: This evaluation found that during the 2014-15 school year, students participating in Baltimore Community Schools’ out-of-school time programs saw improvements in their school day attendance, but no effect was found on students’ reading or math Partnership Assessment of Readiness for College and Career (PARCC) scores.

Examining students’ school day attendance, the evaluation found that elementary school students and middle school students had statistically significant higher school day attendance rates than their peers who did not participate in the program. Both groups of students were also less likely to be chronically absent from school than their non-participating peers. Elementary school students were 32 percent less likely to be chronically absent from school and middle school students were 77 percent less likely. Chronic absenteeism is defined as being absent from school for 10 percent or more of the school year.

There was no significant effect found regarding student performance on the reading and math sections of PARCC for students who attended one year of the out-of-school time program.

Associated Evaluation: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED567805.pdf