Summary:
Zip code 21229 in Baltimore is home to two high schools, Edmondson-Westside High and Green Street Academy, both part of the Baltimore City Public Schools district, serving grades 9-12 and 6-12 respectively, in an area facing significant educational challenges.
When comparing the two schools, the most striking difference is in chronic absenteeism. Edmondson-Westside High has an alarming 86.6% chronic absenteeism rate—nearly nine out of ten students are chronically absent—while Green Street Academy sits at 46.3%, right at the district average. Despite this, Edmondson-Westside posts a slightly higher graduation rate (74.1%) than the district average (71.7%) and a much lower dropout rate (10.7% vs. 20.8% district). Academic proficiency is uniformly low across both schools: math proficiency is in the single digits (5.1% at Edmondson-Westside, 2.6% at Green Street), and English Language Arts proficiency hovers around 22% at both. Both schools rank in the bottom 10% of Maryland high schools, with Edmondson-Westside at 206th and Green Street Academy at 211th out of 227 schools.
Both schools spend significantly more per student than the national average—$24,670 at Edmondson-Westside and $25,371 at Green Street Academy—yet outcomes remain very low, raising questions about resource effectiveness. Green Street Academy has also seen a sharp decline in its state ranking over the past four years, dropping from the 35th percentile to the 7th. For parents, the key takeaway is that both schools face deep systemic challenges, with Edmondson-Westside struggling with extreme absenteeism but showing some relative strength in graduation, while Green Street Academy offers a broader grade span but is on a declining trajectory.
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