City Neighbors Schools:   A Brief History

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City Neighbors Charter School is among Baltimore’s first charter schools and originally served students in grades kindergarten though five, eventually growing to become the K -8 school it is currently.  When we saw wait lists top 500 applicants for City Neighbors Charter School, we decided to leverage our leadership position in the charter school world--as well as recognition from organizations such as AEMS and MSDE--to respond to that demand by expanding our model to serve more Baltimore City students.

Beginning as a grassroots movement among a group of city neighbors in the summer of 2003, City Neighbors Charter School has been leading the way for great public education – not only at our schools, but for all children in Baltimore City.  Some of our achievements include:

·         Our application was the first to be accepted but only after court action that took a stand for charter schools; our actions cleared the way for dozens of new charter schools to open.

·         We served as the founders of the Coalition of Baltimore Charter Schools and serve on the Board of the Maryland Charter School Network.

·         We have been asked to consult other schools on effective and inclusive governance models– like ours – that include parents, staff, and students in ensuring the health and vibrancy of a school.

·         Led by our efforts, the ruling for equitable funding for charter schools was most recently upheld by the Maryland State Court of Appeals (July 30, 2007).  Since that time we continue to advocate for equitable funding for all public schools.

City Neighbors fought hard to open its doors, but it never lost sight of its larger calling--and the calling of all charter schools:  To serve as a model and a challenge to all schools to meet the ideals of education. 

We originally planned an even further expansion of our first school on Raspe Avenue, including the construction of a 3.5-million-dollar building attached to our current one.  However, as our program solidified and started to thrive, we were prompted to begin thinking about how we could, instead, provide a unique urban education to more students and families.   On one hand, we believe strongly in the need for the small school model – a place where all children are known and feel cared for.  On the other hand, we have always felt a calling beyond our own students, a calling that led us to serve as trailblazers and leaders in the public school world, and that thrust us into leadership roles and as partners in systemic change.   So, in order to preserve our small-school model and serve more students, we shifted our thoughts from expansion to replication. 

After consideration of replication options, we submitted two charter applications to Baltimore City Public Schools: one for City Neighbors Hamilton (K-8) and one for City Neighbors High School. In the fall of 2009, the doors to City Neighbors Hamilton opened with grades K through 3, expanding each year to reach full capacity in 2014.   In 2010, City Neighbors High School opened with ninth grade.   Ultimately, City Neighbors schools will be serving 720 students in grades K-12.