Jennifer Gaither

The name Baltimore City College may not mean much to the rest of the world, but it means a whole lot to people who live in Baltimore.

Baltimore City College, or “City,” founded in 1839, is the third oldest public high school in the nation and is typically ranked in the top high schools in the city and state.

It enrolls students selectively, using a composite score based on grades and standardized test scores. Its enrollment is 66% Black. It is also the only Baltimore City public high school to offer the prestigious International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma.

Before COVID-19, City was a school where academic excellence and educational equity were central to its mission. Students feared earning anything less than an A. “I was terrified of failing. I would study my butt off,” said McKenzie, Class of 2023.

But just a few years later, that culture had changed. “Failing isn’t failing anymore,” McKenzie admitted.

At City and so many other schools, the pandemic response didn’t just disrupt learning for a few weeks. It dismantled the culture that once supported student success. Long after schools returned to in-person instruction, students struggled to find motivation and connection, administrators implemented harmful policies, and educators began treating students with indifference rather than care.

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Covid era Dane County Madison Public Health Mandate and Lockdown policies.

Waiting for an analysis of the long term costs of taxpayer supported Dane County Madison Public Health “mandates”