Baltimore City College is the third oldest
public high school in the nation and is the liberal arts and
humanities magnet for the Baltimore
City Public School System. “City” earned
certification as an International Baccalaureate School in
1998 and has won a number of
national awards since. These awards include
Maryland Character Education High School of the Year (1999),
National Blue Ribbon School
of Excellence (2000), NASSP/Gates Break
Through High School (2003), and Newsweek Magazine on-line
top U.S. High School (2003).
In 2003, the school was re-accredited by the
Middle Atlantic Association of Colleges and Schools and in
2005 re-accredited by the
International Baccalaureate Organization.
“City’s” vision for school improvement is to
“produce graduates who enjoy studying and learning and are
ready, willing, and able to
perform as responsible leaders.” This is
consistent with their 167-year history of producing local,
regional, and national leaders in
government, politics, business, and the
arts. Graduates include a Nobel Laureate, three
Congressional Medal of Honor winners, Pulitzer
Prize and Emmy Award winners, senators,
congressmen, governors, mayors, professional athletes, and
prominent persons in the arts,
theater, film, and television. The school
motto reflects a commitment to hard work and excellence. It
is “Palmam Qui Meruit Ferat” which
means, “Honor to the one who earns it”.
Thomas Jefferson Elementary School was
established in 1925 and is located within the limits of
Baltimore City in the Historic Hunting
Ridge community. The school is housed on one
square city block. The community is an older well
established neighborhood. The school
has received several awards including
Character Education School of the Year for 2006-2007. Thomas
Jefferson Elementary is proud to
be in the “candidate” phase of becoming a
part of the Primary Years Program (PYP) through
International Baccalaureate Organization
(IBO). The PYP is an international
curriculum framework that offers a comprehensive,
inquiry-based approach to teaching and learning.
It incorporates guidelines of diverse
student learning styles, teaching methodologies, and
assessment strategies. The four cornerstones of
the program include guided inquiry as a
vehicle for learning, student profile attributes, attitudes,
and trans-disciplinary skills.
IBO believes that an international education
reaches beyond challenging the intellect, and includes an
action component which offers
students the opportunity and the power to
choose an action plan. The implementation of, and reflection
upon those action plans allows
each student the opportunity to make a
genuine and positive difference in the world. Action plans
include service in the broadest sense
of the word: service to peers, to the school
and family community, and to local, national and global
interests. Action plans are intended to
be student initiated, encouraging students
to take ownership of this component of their learning.
Thomas Jefferson Elementary School offers a
first-rate academic education in a caring environment. The
staff focuses on the total growth
of the developing child, touching hearts as
well as minds and encompassing social, physical, emotional,
and cultural needs in addition to
the academic welfare. Students are taught to
become inquirers, thinkers, communicators, risk-takers and
to be knowledgeable, principled,
caring, open-minded, balanced, and
reflective. In addition, Thomas Jefferson students are
taught to become critical and compassionate
thinkers, lifelong learners and informed
participants in local and world affairs, conscious of the
shared humanity that binds all people
together while respecting a variety of cultures.
