Baltimore International Academy 4410 Frankford Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21206

"I finally pulled my two sons out after 7 years. I would consider myself a fairly involved parent, on the side of teachers, that worked to try and make BIA successful. There are some really great teachers there, and some great student families, but the administration does not lead enough to provide a healthy atmosphere for learning. My diagnosis is that there is no model for a philosophy of respect for the students and their potential. Generally speaking, students are treated like little bothersome nuisances. Rules and draconian policies are set to expect the worst possible behavior. Sometimes kids are referred to by number, rather than by name. Whole-class bathroom breaks are scheduled. Everyone is supposed to move around the school in lines, all because they don't trust the students. Yet, because there are no real consequences for bad behavior, much of the school day is chaos. Lots of schools are having real problems with behavior these days, but the administration at BIA has given up. There is never a suspension, even for assault and bullying during class time. The most-often used punitive measure is to bar the whole class from recess, even if only a few kids were misbehaving. There is also no recess for middle school at all. (These policies are against BCPS rules.) Students are hardly ever allowed outside, even during COVID-19. BIA has teacher-led bible and prayer meetings at the school. They sometimes promote Christmas in class. Substitute teachers are often unqualified and lose total control of the classroom. The facility is not clean. The bathrooms always smell of urine. The lunch staff is practically violent. I gave 2 stars because some of the teachers are so exceptional that they sometimes achieve great things for their students, in spite of the administration and atmosphere. There are some real success stories for a few kids. The teachers of the younger grades in French are particularly great, including Ms. Tchapda, Mr. Allucier, Mr. Ben Zahni, and Mr. Mbami. The ELA team is led by Dr. Moore who is a beacon of light for the school. There is potential at BIA, but they need an overhaul in how they treat the students, and take a hard look at what kind of atmosphere they want to create."

"An experience which I would much rather recommend as 0 stars. No child deserves to deal through this for nine years. The mice and roaches throughout the school are something that must be known to all families. I am impressed with how low the withdrawal rates from the school. The bathrooms are absolutely disgusting and it takes forever for them to get cleaned. I am sure I may sound like a pessimist, but I will admit, I am not exaggerating whatsoever. Parents do not know the issues with the school. Teachers do not care and I am shocked by the amount of stories I hear about teachers publicly embarrassing students. When students are injured, some students do not give a darn. Students do not receive proper training for all the issues they deal with. Keep in mind, throughout this, this is about 1/4 of the issues. I may be biased due to the fact I went to this school, but it is truly awful. They make students pose for cameras, even when they are unhappy here. Whenever there is a school wide review of the school, nothing gets fixed because they give us multiple choices and not just our opinion and a free place to type. Bathrooms are unavailable unless everyone is going as a class, which can be irritating when say, you are on your period. Teachers are biased and often play favorites. Specific teachers are known to let students walk out of the classroom when upset, where they could get hurt and some teachers don't let the office know when such happens. My friendly recommendation? Do not go to this school. Try anywhere else."

"Im in my last year here (8th). Formed a lot of good relationships with some staff. Good school :)"

"I love this school. My son has came so far along in speaking French. The exposure to various cultures and traditions is also an important piece of the educational experience. They have begun to try and start concerts and programs on time. This is helpful for those on a tight time schedule. It's difficult to reach the PTO. The office staff are amazing."

"My child started BIA Sept 2012 in Russian. It was a long year and a lot of children. I really think that the class size should be smaller since the teacher is teaching in a different Language. My child did learn Russian however; he/she is not good at translating it to English or reading it. If the classes were smaller it would keep the attention of the children and hopefully they all could leave reading and understanding what they are reading. If you are considering enrolling your child into this school…Please put your time all the way into it. Keep teaching your child the English stuff at home on a regular. One thing I did like was the school had a program called “raise a reader”. My child came home with 3 to 4 new books every week for us to read to him/her (the books are in English).I like the school because they are very good at discipline, structure and reinforcing positive behavior. Do not get me wrong I really think it is a great school. But really… the classes need to be smaller not 21 or 22 children in a class. I know this is the norm for Baltimore City… I am still fishing my way though BIA. I still have a lot to learn and I just want my child to be able to succeed and be able to keep up with other schools when he/she starts High School. I think I made the right choice… BIA offers a lot of school functions for the children and that is wonderful. Just remember parent involvement is very important with BIA."