Hazelwood Elementary/Middle

Hazelwood Elementary/Middle is a Pre-K through 8th grade school in the Baltimore City Public Schools district, serving 524 students in a high-poverty community where over 82% qualify for free or reduced lunch. While the school has shown a slight upward trend in recent years, moving from the 5th to the 10th percentile statewide, it remains significantly below both district and state averages in nearly all academic areas. The most critical challenge is mathematics, where only 8.1% of students are proficient—roughly half the already-low district average and a third of the state average—with 8th grade math proficiency dropping to just 4.7%.

Chronic absenteeism is another major barrier, with 40.1% of students missing too many days in 2024-2025. This rate is nearly three times higher than at nearby City Neighbors Hamilton (14.3%) and Glenmount Elementary/Middle (16.3%), though it has improved from a peak of 61% in 2021-2022. Interestingly, Hazelwood spends a significant $25,419 per student—more than higher-performing nearby schools like City Neighbors Hamilton ($24,020) and Baltimore International Academy ($21,250)—yet this high spending has not translated into academic success, suggesting that how money is used matters more than how much is spent.

There is one notable bright spot: 7th grade English Language Arts (ELA) proficiency reached 40.3%, outperforming the district average of 37.7%. However, the gap between ELA and math is extreme—overall ELA proficiency (26.3%) is more than three times higher than math (8.1%). Science is also a critical weakness, with 8th grade science proficiency at just 1.5%, far below the district average of 12.1%. A fascinating comparison exists just down the street: McCormick Elementary, part of Baltimore County Public Schools, serves a similar poverty level (80%) but has a dramatically lower chronic absenteeism rate of 7.6%, suggesting that district-level policies and community engagement can make a real difference.