Roland Park Elementary/Middle School

5207 Roland Avenue

School District

Baltimore City Public Schools
Grade

PK, K-8
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:21
Type

public

School Map for Baltimore City Public Schools

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by parent on November 09, 2023

My daughter's experience was great. I appreciate the hard work of the former principal and I am excited about Principal Pinkney and the work he is doing at Roland Park.
Submitted by parent on October 13, 2023

This school has been a fantastic place to raise my children. The teachers are incredibly skilled at leading our students and managing their classrooms. I came in with middling expectations, but after having my kids there for a few years now, I wouldn't send them anywhere else. There's a lot of private schools nearby, and I'm sure they have their place for some families, but I actually think the students getting sent to those schools vs to this public Elementary/Middleschool are *really* missing out! RPEMS brings the kind of dynamism and real growth mindset that every parents wants for their child to internalize. There is no doubt in my mind that the current generation of RPEMS students will go far, aided by their experiences at this school.
Submitted by parent on May 01, 2022

Parent of three children at this school. Highly recommend. Very strong academic program and the only school to offer a strings instrument music program (orchestra). The band is also regularly one of the best middle school programs in the state. The school struggles with equity, but is transparent and conscientious about improving and making a difference in the lives of all students. Class sizes are regrettably very large. Teachers are amazing but overwhelmed. School community is strong with deep support for all families.
Submitted by parent on March 20, 2022

This ranking is for the middle school
Submitted by student on September 21, 2021

Roand Park is one of the best schools I have ever gone to. I have gone to many schools because of my dad's job and Roland Par is one of the best by far. I have never had an issue with anything or anyone in this school.
Submitted by parent on May 01, 2019

Great education, most teachers are skilled in dealing with different learning styles. Curriculum is definitely one to be sought after if you want your child to be pushed to their full learning capabilities. The principal and many of the grade level administrators need to be REPLACED with staff who actually care about the well being of the students opposed to only caring about numbers.
Submitted by other on April 09, 2018

9 or 10 at this time .
Submitted by other on March 03, 2017

Good staff, great parents and absolutely wonderful Roland park community
Submitted by parent on September 02, 2016

Our son went here for K and 1st, and now our daughter in 1st and son in 2nd. The families of the kids that go here are great -- which means good peers. I think that's half the battle in picking a good school.The other, is whether the principal cares about the school and the kids and advocates for the kids. Mr. D, the principal is amazing and really cares for the well being of the kids.We've been fortunate to have great teachers for our kids. Actually amazing teachers. I've heard of some there were so so, so I can't say all teachers are the same (of course).Administrators are what you expect for the school - some awesome and friendly, some trying to just make it through the day.I noticed all schools these days assign tons of homework.. but lack attention in the classroom to ensure each child understands everything learned.. I tutored in Howard County and noticed the same things. So be ready to supplement as needed if you're a parent. Don't blame the teachers if your child didn't "get" a topic from class.I highly recommend you attend especially for Elementary since we're in it!
Submitted by parent on March 21, 2016

You can't escape the fact that this is part of the Baltimore City School System. The administration is purposefully opaque in all their dealings, just like North Avenue.If your child has a disability, they will try to con you out of accommodations. Don't trust them. Get an advocate
Submitted by other on January 21, 2016

I attended RPEMS from kindergarten through the beginning of seventh grade. My experiences in elementary school here were almost entirely good ones, but for an inevitable few bad teachers. However, once I began middle school (I was in the Ingenuity Program), everything went downhill. There was a definite sense of elitism amongst the students, and for many students their self-esteem was based almost entirely on their grades. For math, each class was divided into two groups, the "fast" and the "slow" learners. Having these more personalised classes could have been quite beneficial, but because the children are taught that intelligence/gpa is their sole source of value, being placed in the "slow" class was very damaging to many students (myself included). This also created a more intense atmosphere of competition, because if a student did well enough in the "slow" class they could be promoted to the "fast" class. The rest of the classes were awful. I think the teachers did their best, but with so many students it had to have been difficult. Rather than teaching more difficult topics (as one would expect in an advanced program), the teachers merely assigned more classwork and homework on simple topics. This caused a lot of stress for many students, because it was impossible to get good grades without spending nearly all your free time working on homework (even if you understood the topic). I remember having an average of three hours of homework a day in seventh grade. Many students in my class that year dropped out (including myself) due to anxiety & depression caused by stress- CHILDREN were cutting themselves because the Ingenuity Program taught them that they have no worth beyond a number on a paper. Protect your children's mental and emotional health- do not send them here for middle school.
Submitted by parent on March 17, 2015

When we first entered Roland Park Elementary School in 2003, it was a moderate-sized academically challenging neighborhood school. Our kids were happy and we felt blessed to have found one of the only decent schools in Baltimore City. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said 10 years later. In fact, we pulled our last child from Roland Park after 5th grade and transfered to private school. Through a combination of over-crowding, decline in academic rigor, poor school management on the part of Baltimore City Public Schools, terrible curriculum changes, and declining facilities, this school has had a fundamental negative shift during our 10 years of attendance. Teacher morale is low (I'm a former employee as well) and student behavior is intolerable (by my standards, which admittedly are high). Many great teachers continue to struggle on and do the best they can - my hats are off to them, as they are the one bright spot in this once great school.
Submitted by parent on October 10, 2014

We moved to Baltimore February, 2014 and have had such a poor experience at Roland Park that our child now attends a private school in Baltimore City. We moved from New England and have always attended public school as a matter of fast I sat on the School Board in our town suffice to say we believed in public education. We moved to the neighborhood for the school and understood there will be an adjustment period for our son but he lost interest in going to school, felt no teacher connection, found it difficult to make friends, and never ate lunch. We expressed our concerns to teachers and vice principal and our emails were never returned. The delay in getting us into the parent portal and their online classroom parent communication system caused us to miss school events, extra curricular activities and even a day that our child was dismissed half day and no one from the front office called me (stay at home Mom) to tell me my child was sitting on the steps for hours in the afternoon. No accommodation for transferring midyear. No buddy family and no classroom buddy. Goodbye Roland Park, I am sorry we wasted my son's second half of third grade was a shame to say the least.
Submitted by other on October 01, 2014

I attended Roland Park School K-8 50+ years ago and received a wonderful education. I've gone on to earn two graduate degrees (MSW and JD) based on this firm foundation. Lots of good memories. Thanks to all the teachers, now passed on, who educated me so well - I still remember their names. - Don Hope
Submitted by parent on April 22, 2014

Roland park is a pretty good school. The class sizes are to big, but parent volunteering helps to ease the over whelming task of teaching 30 kids with no help. There should be an assitant to help teachers everyday not only when a parent shows up.
Submitted by parent on March 23, 2014

Roland Park is fortunate to serve a population of students that performs well academically and has strong parental support. It's hard to go wrong with kids that value education. That said, I don't find the instructional practices or overall faculty/staff performance to be as impressive as the children themselves. In other words, I think the school capitalizes on its kids. Teachers are not particularly friendly (there are of course exceptions), they do not make any effort beyond what is required of them to include parents, they do not demonstrate particularly forward-thinking instructional practices (my child is drowned with dittos, for instance, and frequently describes boring lectures), and they (at least in my limited experience with 7th and 8th grade teachers) fail to see the connection between their practices and student achievement. The answer to my complaints will undoubtedly be, "But look at their scores!" My point is the scores are not a direct reflection of teacher competence. These children would be successful anywhere and this school fails to take them to the heights they could reach with excellent guidance. The 4-star rating reflects the kids, not the adults.
Submitted by parent on March 20, 2014

My son transferred here from Landsdowne Elementary school last December mid-1st grade. I used to think Lansdowne was a great school but my son started RPEMS miles behind the other kids in his class academically. It took extra time and patience from his teacher to help him get caught up. His teachers have been wonderful and his class is definitely a mix of kids who learn easily and other children who struggle a bit; like all public schools. I dont know how the classes are divided (there are 4 classes in his grade) but I do not believe they just pile the smartest kids into one class like a reviewer commented. And no parent contact? I get at least 5 emails a week from the school discussing upcoming events and anytime I have a question I email his teacher and she responds within the hour. Last year his teacher was the same way. My son also has ADHD. His teacher tried very hard to work with us because she really wanted to try everything before we tried medication. I dont think she even agreed with medicating him (at first). She tried so hard, working with us on a plan and going above and beyond what you could ask from any 2nd grade teacher with a whole class to manage. We love RPEMS!
Submitted by parent on February 24, 2014

The educational excellence at Roland Park has declined significantly in the past ten years. The administration is ill equipped to teach the modern day student. Although there have been changes to administrators and curriculum over these years, the attention to statistical results has increased. Unfortunately the wholeness of the student's experience is diminished. My son is a highly functioning student with ADHD. The teachers have little experience in dealing with special needs and exceptional children are often the casualities of this lack of training. I have had other children come through the school and I am so disappointed in what is offered today. The school is holding on to the legacy of its former years and the expectations of the community in which it resides. However, I think the community at large is disappointed with the mediocrity that is now the "common core" standard for education at Roland Park.
Submitted by parent on November 04, 2013

RPEMS has gone down in recent years. Their clubs are more limited now, elitist, and poorly supervised. There is also no parent contact, which is okay if your kid is doing well, but can be very bad if your kid struggles. Teachers just keep giving work, get very irritated with low performers, and offer little support and encouragement. Instruction is test-driven, and students are just data. Classes are overcrowded and students have to compete for attention, which just means quieter students fall by the wayside or are ignored. All of this comes down to ineffective administrators. My formerly high-performing son has recently been diagnosed with ADHD, and now has low academic self-esteem and an overwhelming feeling that his teachers just don't like him. The school environment has made him miserable and frightened by punitive teachers and bullying students. I will transfer him back to his old school...where his teachers put forth an effort and cared whether he succeeded or failed, not just if they were getting their paycheck and rest on the school's former reputation. I want my son to get a good education, but not at the cost of his happiness, self-confidence, and self-esteem.
Submitted by parent on October 02, 2013

Roland Park is a good school if your child is ready to beat out other children for the best teachers. I am not sure why so many parents would put their child here when itis clear the higher level classes beginning in first grade are all rigidly tracked with best teachers. Fortunately I am the parent of a high achiever but I do not know why more parents do not speak out. Perhaps the "vocal" members of the Roland Park community like it that way but it is a form of strict educational segregation. Alternatively, I would rather pay money to attend one of the more responsive independent schools where at least ALL children have a better chance at being taught rigorous curriculum at a high level.