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Patapsco Elementary School is located in the Cherry Hill Community of Baltimore City, a somewhat geographically isolated community, separated from the rest of the city by the Hanover Street Bridge. It boasts a scenic view of and a close proximity to the Inner Harbor. As in other large urban areas, poverty, unemployment, crime, violence, and substance abuse pervade Cherry Hill, making its children particularly vulnerable. According to recent census data, of the 6,494 families in this community, approximately half of them consisted of female householders with no husband. Of that figure, 76.7% have children, ages 0-17 with 45.6% of these children living at or below the poverty level (compared to 32.2% in Baltimore City overall and 5.6% in neighboring Anne Arundel County.) Median family income stands at $19,343, again significantly lower than that of Baltimore City overall ($28,217) and Anne Arundel county ($49,706). The community�s overall unemployment rate is 14.4%, compared to 9.9% for the rest of the city. Finally, approximately 56% of the population receives some sort of public assistance (AFDC, medical assistance, day care vouchers, food stamps, etc.) Ninety-two percent of Patapsco�s students rely on the Free and Reduced Breakfast and Lunch Program to meet their daily nutritional needs. The vast majority of Cherry Hill�s residents were born, raised, attended school and had their families in this community. Unlike many areas of Baltimore that have succumbed to "urban blight, " Cherry Hill still maintains tree-lined streets and grassy areas where children can play. Most of Patapsco�s families live in low-rise public housing, much of which has been newly renovated. A small percentage of our population own their homes. With a student population of 468, Patapsco maintains 19 classroom teachers, two supplemental teachers, one master teacher, four parent tutors, two paraprofessionals, and a host of resource teachers and service providers. To ensure that we meet all of our students� academic, social, and developmental needs, we have developed an innovative urban school model. Take a walk down our halls. You will see colorful, inviting classrooms full of boys and girls enthusiastically working in small cooperative learning groups. Parents are busily hanging bulletin boards or organizing books in the library. Teachers are acting as learning guides, shepherding their students through a host of stimulating and creative learning activities. Administrators are moving quietly about the halls, listening and watching- serving as effective leaders and instructional partners. Our goal- to create a community of learners in which everyone who leaves Patapsco Elementary School will have both the tools and the inspiration to build a stronger and brighter future for each generation of learners to come. We see our mission likened to that of crafting a beautiful and exquisitely sewn quilt. Each learner- whether student, faculty member, parent, or community volunteer- becomes a unique square in that quilt. The fabric consists of the many different learning activities, programs, and partnerships that go into shaping those squares to create the overall quilt design.
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