Wolfe Street Academy

About Us

Who We Are

Wolfe Street Academy is a Baltimore City Public School with Conversion Charter Status and a long-term member of the Baltimore Community School Strategy 

Wolfe Street Academy is a Community School and Conversion Charter School operated by the Baltimore Curriculum Project.  We serve students and their families in the Upper Fells Point neighborhood, providing high-quality academic programming and helping families develop resources that allow them to overcome barriers to success.

What Makes Us Unique

The more than a decade of success that Wolfe Street has enjoyed is founded upon three pillars. Great People, Great Programs and Great Strategies. At Wolfe we invest in and believe in our people. Whether student, family member or staff member we work tirelessly to develop skills and empower the individual to be a productive member of the whole community. Next, we make sure that we are able to provide the best programs and curriculum for those Great People to use. Our instructional curriculum is centered around a technology based Direct Instruction program, Reading Mastery Transformations, which take children from learning their letter sounds to reading novels. Every subject is fine tuned to the needs of the children so that they can learn most efficiently and advance in their development. And finally, we embrace the Community School strategy. At its core the strategy is a recognition of the impact that the interconnectedness of a community has on the health and success of that community. Community Schools assesses the hyperlocal needs of a community, the school, and works to develop partnerships and structures that address those needs. It is a flexible, everchanging strategy that develops interpersonal relationships, responds to acute crisis, and lifts up every member of the community. 

Quality Academic Programs

Wolfe Street Academy, supported by The Baltimore Curriculum Project, provides high-quality educational experiences for all our children. With 27 years of experience in developing teacher effectiveness in providing the best-researched curriculum to all students, The Baltimore Curriculum Project trains the full-time academic coach, tasked with maintaining highly effective instruction throughout the school. 

In reading, we implement the Reading Mastery Signature program which provides over 900 lessons, Pre-Kindergarten through Fifth Grade, to students.  Along with highly effective instruction, the program guides students from learning their letter sounds in Pre-K to reading Jack London novels in 5th grade.

In mathematics, our staff and faculty work with nationally recognized consultants to tailor the MyMath program for our students.  Taking a careful look at the sequencing and depth of instruction in each unit, we craft the curricular arch over the years for a consistent and effective learning experience.

In addition to the classic core subject areas, Wolfe Street Academy offers physical education or visual arts every day of the week to all students throughout the year.  Students also receive 15 minutes of recess every day.

Conversion Charter Status

In Maryland, all charter schools are public schools but there are two basic types of charter schools, completely new charters, and conversion charters.  Both are afforded more flexibility and site-based management of budgets, curriculum, and professional development.  Both are required to follow all Maryland public school law, including the use of the local teachers' union.  

A Conversion Charter School is a school that used to be a traditional public school which, at some point, sought the responsibility and right to take on the greater independence of charter status.  But, unlike other charters who fill all seats by lottery, Conversion Charters maintain the enrollment zone that they previously served as a traditional school, serving all students in their zone regardless of lottery timelines.  As a Conversion Charter School, once we have served all in-zone students, we can then fill empty seats through a lottery.

The Community School Strategy 

Community Schools are a strategy to ensure that students succeed academically, socially and emotionally. They are a place and a set of partnerships between the school and other community resources.

A Community School's integrated focus on academics, health and social services, youth and community development and community engagement leads to:

• improved student learning

• stronger families 

• healthier communities

Community Schools offer a personalized curriculum that emphasizes real-world learning and community problem-solving. Schools become centers of the community and are open to everyone.

Lottery Preferences

• Siblings of current students

• Neighborhood: As a conversion charter school we provide a seat to any student who lives in our enrollment zone at any time. The zone extends from the south side of E. Pratt St. to the north side of Eastern Ave. and from Patterson Park to the east side of Broadway.

• Teachers and staff

• Other: As with all Prekindergarten programs in the city, a Tiered Priority System is used that provides priority to low income and homeless students.

• Neighborhood: As a conversion charter school we provide a seat to any student who lives in our enrollment zone at any time. The zone extends from the south side of E. Pratt St. to the north side of Eastern Ave. and from Patterson Park to the east side of Broadway.

• Teachers and staff

• Other: As with all Prekindergarten programs in the city, a Tiered Priority System is used that provides priority to low income and homeless students.