The top reported proficiency rate is 51% in English language arts. The lowest is 30% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Federal Hill Preparatory Academy
Federal Hill Preparatory Academy sits in South Baltimore’s Federal Hill neighborhood, a historic district dense with row houses and walkable streets. The school is a regular public school within Baltimore City Public Schools, serving children from prekindergarten through eighth grade. Because attendance ends at grade eight, there is no graduation rate to report, and results from older grades on state assessments are limited to the grades the state tests.
The state assessment data available covers third through fifth grade in math and English language arts, plus fifth-grade science. On the Maryland MCAP, the school’s strongest results come in fifth-grade English, where a majority of students met the proficiency bar. Third-grade English also shows a solid share of students at proficiency. In mathematics, performance is softer: while roughly half of third graders scored proficient, fourth-grade math dips. Fifth-grade math sits at a similar level to third. Science proficiency at the end of elementary grades is a weaker area. A combined measure of all tested subjects and grades places the school among the highest in the city when set against the average of districts in Baltimore city—though the city has only one district, so this essentially means the school outperforms the citywide average by a wide margin. One year of data is available, so no trend direction can be discerned.
The student body is diverse. About half of the students come from households that qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a measure of economic need. The largest racial group is Black, followed by white students, then Hispanic, with smaller shares of Asian students, those identifying as two or more races, and a handful of Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students. English learner and special education counts were not reported in the available data; a parent may want to ask the school directly about the resources available for those populations.
The school is small by the standards of a full K-8 program, though enrollment runs from early childhood through a tiny eighth-grade class. That means the middle school experience here is minimal—only a single eighth grader was enrolled in the data year. Families looking for a larger peer group for the upper grades may need to plan for a transition after fifth grade or consult the school about its middle school offerings.
Federal Hill is one of Baltimore’s most recognizable neighborhoods, with brick sidewalks, Federal-era architecture, and a strong sense of local retail and dining. The Inner Harbor is a short walk, and the neighborhood’s walkability is among the city’s best. The broader city has a service-oriented economy anchored by Johns Hopkins Hospital and University, along with the Port of Baltimore. Population has seen a slight decline in recent years, and a major infrastructure project—replacing the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge—is underway. Housing in the Federal Hill zip code is valued moderately above the national median but well below the Maryland statewide benchmark. Rents are near the national median. The affordability picture for a typical household is reasonable by big-city standards, with monthly mortgage costs and rents both within reach of a median income.
No data was available on discipline, chronic absenteeism, or course access, so those aspects could not be evaluated. The district did not report any recent school-level changes of lasting parent impact in its public materials. Federal Hill Preparatory Academy offers a neighborhood school that performs above the Baltimore city average on state tests, particularly in language arts in the upper elementary grades, in a historic, walkable part of the city. Families who want a strong fifth-grade English program and a small, intimate elementary setting may find it a good fit; those seeking a robust middle school experience or higher math scores should look into those areas further with the school.
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