The top reported proficiency rate is 20% in Math. The lowest is 13% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Liberty Elementary
Liberty Elementary serves students from prekindergarten through fifth grade and is a regular public school within the Baltimore City Public Schools system. The school is located in the city’s northwest section, near the Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park area, and draws its students from the surrounding residential neighborhoods. Nearly all of the student body identifies as Black, with a small Hispanic population and a very small number of students identifying as white or multiracial. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing the school in a high-poverty context.
The academic picture at Liberty Elementary is challenging. On the state’s Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program, proficiency rates in math are below one in four students across grades three, four, and five. In English language arts, grade-level performance varies: third grade shows a higher share of students meeting the proficiency threshold, while fourth grade drops sharply. Fifth-grade science proficiency is similarly low. For a family considering this school, the principal question is whether the school is providing strong enough instructional support to move more students into the proficient range. A parent may want to ask the school directly about literacy interventions, math supports, and how those efforts differ by grade.
Across tested subjects and grades combined, Liberty Elementary’s overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile when compared only to the other district in Baltimore city that is in this comparison set. That is a narrow field – just two school systems – and the gap between the top and bottom is small. Being at the top of this pair is a distinction within the city’s district landscape, but it does not change the fact that absolute proficiency levels are low.
Because this is an elementary school, there is no graduation rate to report, and data on chronic absenteeism and discipline were not available. The school environment is a regular public school setting with no charter or magnet status. Information on staffing, course access, and attendance was not available in the data provided.
Baltimore’s economy has moved away from heavy industry toward services, with the Johns Hopkins medical and university complex as the city’s dominant employer. The Inner Harbor anchors civic and commercial life, and the city has many walkable historic districts. The population has declined modestly since 2020, and a major bridge reconstruction project is underway. No recent district-level changes of lasting impact to parents or families were publicly reported in the data searched.
The housing market in the 21207 zip code, where Liberty Elementary is located, shows home values below the national median, and rents are also below the national benchmark. The estimated monthly mortgage payment is lower than the national average, and rent consumes a share of income that is below the national rent-to-income ratio, suggesting that housing costs relative to local incomes are not unusually high. A family looking at this area will find it more affordable than many parts of the Baltimore region, but they should also factor in the school’s academic performance when deciding which neighborhood to settle in.
Liberty Elementary serves a high-poverty community and has not yet achieved strong academic results on state assessments. A parent choosing this school will want to understand what academic supports are in place and how the school is working to raise achievement. The school’s small enrollment for a city elementary school means class sizes are moderate, and a family may find a close-knit school environment. The school is part of the larger Baltimore City Public Schools system, which has faced well-known resource and governance challenges, but individual schools can vary significantly in culture and effectiveness.
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