Donate Now

Academics

Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women » Academics

Overview

Academics Program

We offer a rigorous middle and high school curriculum to meet and challenge each student’s academic performance level. With a team of dedicated middle school teachers and a team of dedicated upper school teachers, our staff knows each student intimately. One of the hallmarks of the BLSYW experience is knowing each girl by name and by need and responding to her in ways that will prepare her academically and socially for success in college.

At BLSYW, we are committed to providing a well-rounded and engaging educational experience with high expectations and high support at the center of our experience. To participate in any extracurricular activity, including social events, students must have at least a 2.0 grade point average. Students who do not meet this threshold are provided with encouragement and support in and out of class to keep them focused on our academic goals as a school community.

Apply Now

Features of a BLSYW Education

Educating Every Girl

BLSYW is a charter school in Baltimore City. As a school without entrance criteria, students are admitted based on a lottery, representing the full range of academic preparedness for a college preparatory school.

Learn More

As a Title I Targeted Assistance school, we have a full-time math intervention teacher as well as a part-time reading intervention teacher who provides one-on-one and small group instruction for Title I eligible students. In addition, we hold a Saturday Academy to provide extension and additional practice in the areas of literacy and mathematics. For advanced and accelerated learners, at each grade level for most courses in math and English/Language Arts, the school offers advanced or “honors” level classes to accelerate the academic rigor and content for students to continue to push forward.

STEAM: Girls Only!

At BLSYW, we are answering the charge to prepare our students to develop numeracy and scientific literacy and to work to ensure that our alumnae pursuing STEM fields are prepared for the rigors of higher-order mathematics and science.

Learn More
Every student at BLSYW has weekly science labs and participates in math labs, which are designed to bring complex mathematical principles to life in a fun, team-based, and problem-solving setting. In addition, every 9th grader at BLSYW takes physics, which aligns with course content in algebraic reasoning and applications. We are a CTE Computer Science school, which provides talented and interested students the opportunity to gain fluency in computer science principles and applications and to earn a certification in computer science.

Leadership

At BLSYW, Leadership is as much an academic undertaking as it is a social and emotional one. Students read and write extensively and frequently give oral presentations as a part of their coursework.

Learn More
Leadership is a name and an attitude at BLSYW. One of the defining experiences as a BLSYW 6th and 7th grader is enrolling in a Leadership class. In these courses, the focus is on community building, developing self-advocacy skills, learning to work in teams, honing the qualities of discernment, and examining different contexts and conditions for good leadership.

A Well-Rounded Education

At BLSYW, we educate the whole girl and have designed an academic program that goes beyond the basics. Students start to take high school-level Spanish (for high school credit) in the 8th grade.
Learn More
We also offer electives in Drawing, Mixed Media, African American Studies, Economics, Journalism, and Independent Study Science.

Professional Learners: Action Research Projects and the Senior Capstone

Learning is a pre-professional undertaking as well as a college preparatory one. Prior to being recommended for promotion to the ninth grade, each eighth-grade student completes and defends an Action Research Project (ARP).
Learn More
ARP is a multi-step project in which students research a contemporary issue, write a five-to-seven-page paper explaining their research, and present and defend their paper and thesis. As a part of the culminating experience at BLSYW, seniors complete and defend a Capstone Project. Each Capstone must include the following components:

  • Identifying an issue related to Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, or Math OR the improvement of Baltimore City’s social condition.
  • A Proposal and Implementation Plan to Address and/or Eradicate the Area of Concern
  • A Literature Review
  • A Theory of Action
  • A Defensible Research Methodology
  • Conclusion.

Students work closely with an outside mentor and must present and defend their capstone before a professional panel. Exceptional capstone projects are eligible for AP credit from the College Board.

Schoolwide Title I Plan

Schoolwide Title I Plan (2020-2021)
Schoolwide Title I Plan (2024-2025)
Skip to content