Belmont Elementary

Belmont Elementary is a small Pre-K through 5th grade school in the Rosemont neighborhood of West Baltimore, serving 177 students as part of the Baltimore City Public Schools district, where over 90% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

Belmont Elementary stands out for its remarkable progress in mathematics, with 23.7% of students proficient in math—nearly double the district average of 13.3% and significantly higher than nearby schools like KIPP Harmony Academy (12.9%) and Empowerment Academy (6.3%). This represents a major turnaround from the previous year when only 12.7% were proficient. However, the school faces a significant challenge in English Language Arts (ELA), where only 15.8% of students are proficient—well below the district average of 32.9% and the lowest among its immediate peers. For example, 5th graders at Belmont achieved 28% math proficiency (more than double the district average) but only 4% ELA proficiency (six times lower than the district average). The school benefits from high per-student spending of $31,890, which is higher than most nearby schools like Wildwood Elementary/Middle ($21,396) and Mary E. Rodman Elementary.

Despite these academic gains, chronic absenteeism remains a critical issue, with 53.3% of students chronically absent—higher than the district average of 46.4% and much higher than nearby Empowerment Academy (25.5%). This paradox suggests that while the students who attend regularly receive exceptionally effective math instruction, the high absenteeism rate limits overall growth. Belmont’s state ranking has climbed from the 0th percentile in 2021-2022 to the 20th percentile in 2025-2026, its highest ever, but the school still performs well below state averages. The school’s small size allows for a low student-teacher ratio of 15.3, but year-over-year data can be volatile with such small cohorts. To sustain momentum, Belmont must address its chronic absenteeism crisis and replicate its math success in reading.