Calverton Elementary/Middle Closed Through Friday Jan 12

BALTIMORE, MD — One school in Baltimore will be closed on Thursday, Jan. 11, and Friday, Jan. 12. Calverton Elementary/Middle School will be closed for students through the end of the week, Baltimore City Public Schools officials announced.

The school at 1100 Whitmore Avenue has been closed since last week due to building issues. It was one of approximately 60 that school leaders said required emergency repairs during an Arctic blast.

"We started with problems at 60 schools, resolved many of them, and had new issues develop in other buildings," Baltimore City Public Schools CEO Sonja Santelises said in a letter to parents on Sunday, when she said issues remained at 20 buildings.

Baltimore City Public Schools announced Wednesday, Jan. 10, that all other schools were expected to be operating on a regular schedule, with the exception of Calverton Elementary/Middle.

Crews are working to repair leaks and copper pipes that provide heating to each individual classroom at Calverton, which was built in 1962 and has 650 students enrolled, according to The Baltimore Sun.

The high is 52 degrees in Baltimore on Thursday, Jan. 11, and 65 degrees on Friday, Jan. 12, according to the forecast from the National Weather Service, which calls for rain.

While the school is closed, students may go to the Easterwood Recreation Center. Staff should report to the Professional Development Center at 2500 East Northern Parkway.

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The plight of students in frigid schools plagued by infrastructure issues in Baltimore City drew national attention after former NFL player-turned-teacher Aaron Maybin posted an Instagram video of his pupils bundled up in a classroom he said was 40 degrees. CNN, CBS and USA Today were among the national outlets taking note.

School officials said that BGE, the mayor and other city personnel have been working to resolve system-wide heating problems. Utility issues led to the closure of several schools early last week, followed by district wide closures Thursday and Friday. Several schools were also closed Monday and Tuesday. One remained out of commission Wednesday: Calverton Elementary/Middle School.

A GoFundMe campaign was set up to purchase space heaters and outerwear for students in Baltimore City. The campaign's goal was to raise $20,000, enough to purchase 600 space heaters. Since it began Jan. 3, the campaign has raised more than $78,000.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced an emergency $2.5 million in funding on Monday for repairs to heating systems in Baltimore City schools. The money will come from the state's Catastrophic Event Account and will be overseen by the Maryland Department of General Services for the purposes of accountability.

"Let me be clear: this funding is for our kids," Hogan said in a statement. "Baltimore City children should never have to suffer because of the adults who have repeatedly failed them."

Accountability issues have been plaguing school systems across the state, citing problems that were brought to light in Baltimore, Howard and Prince George's counties this year.

Hogan has proposed creating an Office of the State Education Investigator General within the Maryland State Department of Education to investigate complaints about conduct related to grading, facilities, budgets, graduation requirements, procurement and education assets. The bill is called the Accountability in Education Act of 2018.

"This lack of accountability in education systems all across our state cannot and will not be tolerated by our administration," Hogan said in a statement this week. "Not addressing it would mean that we are failing Maryland taxpayers, and–more importantly–failing our children who need help the most."

Baltimore City Public Schools is holding a town hall meeting to discuss issues with city school buildings from 6 to 8 p.m. on Jan. 22 at Dunbar High School, 1400 Orleans Street.

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