andres alonso

A review of a long-standing Baltimore school system hiring policy shows that the central office failed to perform its duties and enforce its protocols when hiring a temporary employee who allegedly misrepresented himself as a child therapist and is now charged with raping a teen.

Eighteen charter schools seeking contract renewals to continue operating in Baltimore are undergoing a rigorous review process that will uniformly evaluate them for the first time since they began populating the district 10 years ago.

Members of the Baltimore school police union cast a vote of "no confidence" in their police chief last month, citing a lack of responsiveness to their concerns, union leaders announced Thursday.

The percentage of Maryland students who successfully completed exams required for graduation rose slightly this year compared to last year, with 90 percent of students passing the High School Assessments, according to data released by the State Department of Education Wednesday.

The state's legislative audit office released 26 recommendations to address inadequate oversight of Baltimore school finances and ways that the system could improve policies to be more cost-effective.

All 6,000 Baltimore educators will take part this year in a new teacher evaluation system that ties their effectiveness to student performance, school officials announced this week, in preparation for the implementation of the state's more rigorous evaluations next year.

State and city lawmakers expressed concerns Monday about Baltimore's public school system after a searing audit called attention to a lack of oversight to school spending.

The nearly three-decade lawsuit that transformed the long-beleaguered special education system in Baltimore city schools has officially come to an end.

Baltimore schools opened the year with 87 teacher vacancies, a trend that is not uncommon in the region but comes during a critical year for the system as it embarks on a new student curriculum and teacher evaluation system.

Led by the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, and supported by 30 businesses, nonprofits and government agencies, Thomas Johnson Elementary/Middle School hosted the first public reveal of the 'Baltimore Elementary and Middle School Library Project,'

Explanations offered for school officials' questionable credit card expenses are unconvincing

The city school board reinstated a school principal Monday night who had been fired by CEO Andres Alonso over alleged cheating at her school.

Baltimore's top leadership called on the school system Monday to tighten oversight of its expenditures after a Baltimore Sun investigation found central office staff made at least $5,000 in inappropriate expenses on district-issued credit cards during the past year and a half.

Twenty-two Baltimore schools will open Monday without permanent principals in place, continuing the unprecedented principal turnover under Andrés Alonso that the principals union says reflect "vindictive" and "capricious" decisions by the schools chief.

The state of the Baltimore City school system reflects a journey of a district in transition in the last five years, and the next five will note a continuation of "stops, starts and uncertainties" with a newfound focus on the classroom, Alonso told principals Tuesday.

For the third year in a row, Baltimore's scores on state tests show a double-digit achievement gap between chronically absent students and their peers who attend school regularly, and the system's recent spike in suspensions has created a similar disparity.

Roundup of MSA results

Baltimore school officials assured the special education advocacy community Wednesday that the system's efforts to provide students with a quality education will continue after a lawsuit ends this fall that has kept it under a microscope for 28 years.

Baltimore city school officials released Tuesday the results of an exhaustive assessment of more than 150 school buildings, where roughly $2.4 billion in infrastructure needs were identified.

Speculation that Andres Alonso would leave the Baltimore City school CEO job for a new superintendent post has been rampant for years. Whenever an opening for the top job in an urban district appeared, Alonso's name seemed to be mentioned. He has always denied he was searching for a new job.

In a surprise announcement, Bolton Street Synagogue is parting ways with its rabbi after six years.

The Baltimore school board approved this week applications to open the Creative City Public Charter School, an arts integration elementary school, and the Baltimore Collegiate School for Boys, a single-gender, college preparatory program that starts in fourth grade.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's proposed increase to the city's tax on bottle beverages is expected to move forward Monday after being corked up for months by a City Council committee.