Pimlico Elementary/middle, Baltimore MD

Original Research by School Decision on Pimlico Elementary/middle

Pimlico Elementary/Middle is a charter school in Baltimore that serves students from prekindergarten through eighth grade. It is a regular public school operating under the authority of Baltimore City Public Schools. The school enrolls a sizable student body for the PK-8 grade band, and the student population is predominantly Black, with a significant Hispanic share and very small numbers of White, Asian, or other racial groups. A substantial majority of students come from low-income households, as measured by free or reduced-price meal eligibility.

The school’s academic performance on Maryland’s state assessments is very low across all tested subjects and grade levels. In math, proficiency rates in every grade from third through eighth cluster in the single digits, with most grades showing rates well below one in ten students meeting the state’s standard. English language arts results are higher but still low: the strongest performance appears in seventh grade, where roughly one in four students scored proficient, while other grades range from about one in ten to one in five. Science proficiency, assessed in fifth and eighth grades, sits below one in ten students. Social studies, tested only in eighth grade, also falls below that mark. When compared against other school districts within Baltimore city, the school’s overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile. Because the city contains only two school districts, this effectively means Pimlico Elementary/Middle is the lower-performing of the two. State testing data for the most recent year is available and reported directly from Maryland’s assessment system.

The school does not serve high school grades, so no graduation rate is reported. Data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, and staffing were not provided. The district brief turned up no recent major policy changes or budget events of obvious parent relevance, so that dimension is absent from this account rather than invented.

Baltimore itself is a large, historic independent city with a service-oriented economy anchored by Johns Hopkins Hospital and University. The city’s population has experienced a slight decline in recent years. Housing in the school’s immediate zip code is notably more affordable than the Maryland state median, with home values well below the state benchmark and rents also lower. That pattern is typical for many central-city neighborhoods in older industrial cities.

For a family considering Pimlico Elementary/Middle, the school offers a full PK-8 pathway in a charter setting, which can provide an alternative to the district’s traditional schools. The student body is heavily economically disadvantaged, which may mean higher levels of need and potentially more wraparound services, though specific support programs were not listed in the available data. The academic attainment levels are low enough that a parent would want to investigate what interventions, curricula, and supports the school provides to address them. The school’s middle grades (sixth through eighth) enroll a large number of students relative to the elementary grades, which may indicate that many families in the area choose to stay with the school through eighth grade rather than transfer elsewhere after fifth.

The lack of publicly reported information on disciplinary climate, teacher experience, chronic absenteeism, and program offerings means a family should seek those details directly from the school before making a decision. Parents interested in a charter school with a strong community role in a historically significant Baltimore neighborhood may find Pimlico Elementary/Middle worth a closer look, with the understanding that its academic results are far below state averages and warrant careful inquiry.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 39%

School 9% · district not reported

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 40%

School 0% · district not reported

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 54%

School 4% · district not reported

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 63%

School 3% · district not reported

▼ 10 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 76%

School 6% · district not reported

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 89%

School 9% · district not reported

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 319%

School 19% · district not reported

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 415%

School 15% · district not reported

▼ 30 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 59%

School 9% · district not reported

▼ 31 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 619%

School 19% · district not reported

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 728%

School 28% · district not reported

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 820%

School 20% · district not reported

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Science

Grade 54%

School 4% · district not reported

▼ 16 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 85%

School 5% · district not reported

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 86%

School 6% · District 17% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

This schoolBaltimore City Public Schools, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 6Lower-income23%Higher-income33%11 pp gap