Baltimore City Schools reports largest kindergarten-readiness gain in nine years; pre-K students show strongest gains

Baltimore City Public Schools reported on Feb. 11 that kindergarten-readiness rates rose significantly this year, with the strongest gains among children who attended City Schools pre-K programs.

Executive Director Crystal Francis and Chief Academic Officer Joan Dabrowski presented kindergarten readiness assessment (KRA) findings to the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners and said the district saw its highest overall rate in nine years. City Schools administered its own KRA this school year after the State of Maryland did not run the assessment statewide.

Key results presented by the district: - Students who attended City Schools non-duty-center pre-K programs: 53.4% demonstrating readiness. - Students who attended any City Schools pre-K program: 52% demonstrating readiness. - All City Schools kindergarten students (including children from home, childcare and Head Start): 45% readiness. - Change from last year (district-reported): roughly +6 percentage points among all kindergarten students; the district reported a 22 percentage-point increase for students who attended City Schools pre-K since immediately after the pandemic.

District leaders said targeted changes are driving gains. District staff highlighted adoption of a new early-childhood curriculum called Frog Street, adoption of professional-learning tracks aligned to the science of reading, increased classroom walkthroughs by early-learning staff and expanded playgroup and extended-learning opportunities for younger children.

“Students who attended our Judy Center pre-K programs are 28.1% more likely to demonstrate readiness and students who attend our City Schools pre-K programs are 24.6% more likely to demonstrate readiness,” Executive Director Crystal Francis said during the presentation. She also noted the district has focused professional development for teachers and paraeducators and implemented interventions for specific literacy skills identified as weaknesses — for example, rhyming and phonological awareness.

District comments about state assessment changes and next steps: Maryland did not administer the KRA statewide this year; City Schools chose to administer the measure internally to track recovery from pandemic-era learning loss. The district said Maryland will implement a new assessment, Renaissance, next year; Renaissance includes literacy and math modules and measures social, academic and emotional behavior. Renaissance will permit more immediate, teacher-level access to data and is scheduled to be administered through Oct. 10 in the school year calendar, according to staff.

Why it matters: The KRA measures early strengths in language and literacy, math, social foundations and physical well-being; research cited by district presenters linked kindergarten readiness to higher third-grade reading proficiency. District officials said the KRA results help identify early gaps and direct professional learning and programming for pre-K and kindergarten teachers.

Questions from the board and clarifications: Board members asked about domain-level strengths and weaknesses, program variation across the district and ways families can support learning during brief absences. Chief Early Learning staff said rhyming tasks have been a recurring area of student challenge and that the district has implemented targeted interventions (Heggerty) and vertical planning between pre-K and kindergarten teachers. Attendance was cited as a strong driver of variation in readiness outcomes; staff urged regular attendance and pointed to family-facing resources and home activities tied to Frog Street’s parent materials.

Speakers (presentation and Q&A): - Crystal Francis, Executive Director, Office of Early Learning, Baltimore City Public Schools - Joan Dabrowski, Chief Academic Officer, Baltimore City Public Schools - Dr. Sonja Santelises, CEO, Baltimore City Public Schools (presenting/introducing)

Clarifying details: - District-administered KRA this year because the State of Maryland did not run the assessment statewide. - Renaissance (new assessment) will include Renaissance literacy and math and an SEL measure; administration window is the first day of school through Oct. 10, per staff. - Frog Street curriculum adopted for pre-K programs this year; district said it aligns with the science of reading and includes parent-facing materials.

Provenance: Presentation began when Chief Santelises introduced the item at 2875.385 and the early-learning presentation and Q&A continued through question time beginning about 3592.27 (Commissioner Lawinger) and related discussion.

Ending: District officials celebrated improved readiness rates and described next steps: continued professional development, classroom walkthroughs, expanded early-learning programming and preparations to implement the Renaissance assessment next year.