Maya Lora
@mayaklora.bsky.social
Covering Baltimore City Public Schools, school choice & early childhood education at The Banner. Happiest in a classroom, reading weird fiction and at the movies she/her/hers 📍Baltimore
Wake up kids, new MCAP scores just dropped. Baltimore City students have seen some of the largest literacy gains in the state since the pandemic, though their scores remain the lowest in MD. The new CEO, a true data nerd, says he's encouraged but has work to do www.thebanner.com/education/k-...
Baltimore students’ English test scores are rising fast, even as they struggle in math
Baltimore schools’ post-pandemic gains are some of the highest in the state in English.
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A network of eight free, self-serve pet food pantries has sprung up across the Baltimore area, helping owners keep their pets fed and out of shelters.
Inside Baltimore’s free pet pantry network
A network of eight free, self-serve pet food pantries has sprung up across the Baltimore area, helping owners keep their pets fed and out of shelters.
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Parents wait up to two years for a spot in Hampden Christian School’s daycare, run by members of an Anabaptist church. The Mennonites’ conservative dress and beliefs stick out in hipster Hampden, yet the preschool has grown so popular that it’ll soon take over a former Catholic church campus.
Why urban parents wait years for a spot in a Mennonite-run preschool
A conservative Anabaptist group runs one of the hottest preschools in Baltimore’s liberal Hampden neighborhood.
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Federal judge orders mother detained on Baltimore school campus released from ICE custody. (via @thebaltimorebanner.com) (w/ @mayaklora.bsky.social and @lizbowie.bsky.social)
Judge orders mother detained on Baltimore school campus released from ICE custody
U.S. District Judge Matthew Maddox ordered Adriana Gavilan Sanchez to be released from immigration custody.
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We finally know where Sonja Santelises is heading after 10 years at the head of Baltimore City Public Schools: D.C.'s Council on Foreign Relations, where she'll head its education resource arm and promote civil discourse during a "fraught political moment" www.thebanner.com/education/k-...
Former Baltimore schools CEO snags top job at DC think tank
Sonja Brookins Santelises wants to make classroom conversation civil again.
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Commodore John Rodgers leaders spent all year telling immigrant families that as ICE cracked down in Southeast Baltimore, they were still safe at school. It took federal agents mere minutes and 2 detainments to unravel that promise. Where does CJR go from here? www.thebanner.com/education/k-...
For this Baltimore school, an ICE arrest turned fear into reality
An arrest on the Commodore John Rodgers campus shattered the sense of safety school staff spent years building.
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💰: Ron Daniels, the president of Johns Hopkins University, earned $5.8 million in 2024, according to newly released tax documents. That makes Daniels one of the highest paid college presidents in the country. Here’s a breakdown of his pay: www.thebanner.com/education/hi...
Johns Hopkins president among America’s highest paid college leaders
Ron Daniels, the president of the Johns Hopkins University for 17 years, received a multiyear payout ahead of a drastic drop in federal research funding.
thebanner.com
For teen moms like Rylee who fell behind in class while trying to raise a baby, one family center in Baltimore has a way to help them beat the odds and get a diploma: They send their babies to free preschool in the same building. Their success rate? 89% www.thebanner.com/education/k-...
On-site daycare helps close the graduation gap for Baltimore’s teen moms
Half of teen moms don’t graduate high school. Excel Academy is different.
thebanner.com
The 7-way race for 2 Baltimore school board seats is TIGHT. With all precincts reporting Election Day results, we have 3 basic locks - both incumbents and a challenger. But less than 100 votes separate the candidates for the fourth spot on the November ballot www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...
Esposito leads Baltimore City school board race
Challengers Kevin W. Parson and Jamar Day ended Tuesday night neck-and-neck for the fourth spot on November’s ballot.
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At the end of the month, Baltimore City Public Schools CEO Sonja Santelises will step down after 10 years at the helm, an abnormally long and stable tenure. @lizbowie.bsky.social was there for it all — let her show you exactly what this moment means app.thebaltimorebanner.com/VP3HLWKOIVAI...
Baltimore schools are shedding an old reputation built on years of dysfunction
Sonja Santelises brought hard-won stability. Will incoming CEO Jermaine Dawson take City Schools to the next level?
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Three generations. One AFRAM. How 50 years of the festival has resonated with attendees! www.thebanner.com/culture/arts...
3 generations reflect on AFRAM, 50 years later
These AFRAM attendees remember their experiences, both personal and professional, at the annual Baltimore festival.
thebanner.com
Since ICE detained two Baltimore parents at their daughter’s school last week, little has emerged about their lives. But details about the quiet, hardworking mom and dad, as described by their neighbors, are at stark odds with the government’s narrative. app.thebaltimorebanner.com/XWV6QBFUZRCO...
These Baltimore parents’ lives revolved around their kids. ICE detained them at school drop-off.
The chaotic way two Baltimore parents were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement outside their daughter’s school stands in stark contrast to what their neighbors describe as their norma...
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Last week, ICE agents detained a mother and father during morning drop-off at a temporary learning space for Commodore John Rodgers Elementary/Middle School kids in far East Baltimore. The school is over 40% Hispanic and over a third of kids are learning English. www.thebanner.com/education/k-...
ICE agents detain parents dropping off kids outside Baltimore school
ICE agents detained two adults on public school property Thursday in a chaotic scene caught on video.
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ICE vehicles hit Baltimore father’s car as he took his children to school, attorney says. (w/ @mayaklora.bsky.social and @lizbowie.bsky.social) (via @thebaltimorebanner.com)
ICE vehicles hit Baltimore father’s car as he took his children to school, attorney says
ICE says Jesus Acevedo Sanchez and his wife, who were detained while dropping off their children at a Baltimore school, face federal charges.
thebanner.com
Why was Montgomery County Council member Laurie-Anne Sayles in Hawaii during budget deliberations? I got the records: www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...
Before a critical budget debate, one council member flew to Hawaii
At-large member Laurie-Anne Sayles said her conference attendance benefitted the county.
thebanner.com
The former Baltimore teacher of the year charged last month with sexual solicitation of a minor said he was just trying to warn the (fake) teen against dangerous relationships with older men. He also insisted he thought "Aiden" was 16 - the age of consent in MD. www.thebanner.com/education/k-...
Former Baltimore teacher of the year confronted by Chris Hansen in YouTube sting
Former Baltimore teacher of the year Dennis Jutras told Chris Hansen he was trying to warn a teen in a Harford County sting operation targeting adults seeking sex with minors.
thebanner.com
Gov. Wes Moore will soon face what could turn out to be one of the most influential education decisions he’ll make as governor. Will Maryland opt in to Trump's national school voucher program? It’s a risky calculation.
Will Maryland opt in to a national school voucher program?
Gov. Wes Moore soon faces what could turn out to be one of the most influential education decisions he makes as governor.
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Baltimore lets any family with a 4-year-old apply for public pre-K. The school choice program prioritizes low-income kids, so not everyone can go where they want or where they live closest to. But it's always free. Here's how to get a spot: www.thebanner.com/education/ea...
What happens when your child doesn’t get into pre-K at your neighborhood school?
Baltimore City Public Schools prioritizes the neediest kids first. Here’s what else to know.
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Baltimore’s pre-K ‘dumpster fire’ is shutting some families out of neighborhood schools
Baltimore’s pre-K ‘dumpster fire’ shuts some families out of neighborhood schools
Middle-class families who live near the most popular pre-k schools in Baltimore City may end up shut out of their neighborhood programs.
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BREAKING: Annapolis has reached a tentative settlement agreement in a years-long housing discrimination lawsuit. Read more in @thebaltimorebanner.com:
Annapolis tentatively settles yearslong housing discrimination lawsuits for $15M
The city of Annapolis agreed to a $15 million settlement in two housing discrimination lawsuits.
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Morgan State University, Maryland’s largest historically Black college, is expanding its off-campus housing options after another year of record-breaking enrollment. The public research university has seen five straight years of enrollment growth. www.thebanner.com/education/hi...
Morgan State University adds housing for 300 students after record enrollment
Morgan State University signed an off-campus housing agreement and expanded another after five consecutive years of enrollment growth.
thebanner.com
How the show went on: Back in February, the Baltimoree School for the Arts shuttered for weeks after a pipe burst flooded parts of the 100-year-old building. The arts community helped get kids back on track, but things aren't quite back to normal just yet www.thebanner.com/education/k-...
Baltimore School for the Arts is still picking up the pieces after winter flood
The Mount Vernon arts community rallied around teachers and students who knew the show must go on.
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Baltimore School for the Arts is still picking up the pieces after winter flood, @mayaklora.bsky.social reports. (via @thebaltimorebanner.com)
Baltimore School for the Arts is still picking up the pieces after winter flood
The Mount Vernon arts community rallied around teachers and students who knew the show must go on.
thebanner.com
Harford County school board selects its first Black superintendent
Harford County school board selects its first Black superintendent
Dyann Mack, the interim superintendent for Harford County Public Schools, will continue to lead the district for the next four years.
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Baltimore School for the Arts is still picking up the pieces after winter flood
Baltimore School for the Arts is still picking up the pieces after winter flood
The Mount Vernon arts community rallied around teachers and students who knew the show must go on.
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Dennis Jutras, who until recently worked with Baltimore City Public Schools students, was charged with sexual solicitation of a minor for allegedly trying to meet and hook up with an officer posing as a 15-year-old boy www.thebanner.com/education/k-...
Former Baltimore teacher of the year charged with sexual solicitation of a minor
Dennis Jutras, a longtime City Schools employee, allegedly tried to meet up with an officer posing as a high schooler.
thebanner.com
Maryland students made one of the fastest pandemic recoveries www.thebanner.com/education/k-...
Maryland students made one of the fastest pandemic recoveries
Maryland ranks 3rd for improvement in reading, and 5th in math.
thebanner.com
It’s the bike bus, Baltimore’s cutest mode of transportation. The idea is simple: A bunch of kids and parents meet up to ride their bikes to school together. buff.ly/Mexswbn
Immigration enforcement is inching closer to Southeast Baltimore schools
Immigration enforcement is inching closer to Southeast Baltimore schools
Reports of immigration enforcement activity near Southeast Baltimore schools last week are frightening parents and spurring City Council members into action.
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The new head of Baltimore City Public Schools is a math whiz known for using data to turn around struggling schools. But as CEO, he'll need to do a lot more than just academics while answering for controversial decisions. Is this the job that finally sticks? www.thebanner.com/education/k-...
6 cities, 2 decades: Can Baltimore schools’ new CEO make lasting change?
Jermaine Dawson will finally fulfill his goal of leading a school district. Baltimore will be the ultimate test.
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