BALTIMORE — Baltimore City Schools parents, community members, and staff expressed frustrations with what they see in the area's schools at a listening session Wednesday night.
The Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners sat with ears wide open as they listened to the speakers.
VIDEO: Baltimore City school parents express frustrations to school board
"So whoever leads the system on the school board or the superintendent, be courageous enough to sacrifice," one man said.
Many community members said the main problem is what they're not seeing—enough students in classrooms.
"I work from home, and often when I look out my front door during school hours, I see a lot of kids roaming the streets aimlessly, nowhere to go, not a care," Harry Ellerby, a community member, said.
Others said part of the problem is rooted in a transportation issue across the district.
"And we have students who are parents/siblings. They have to go all the way to the east side to come back to the west side, and then guess what, they're going to be late, they're gonna be absent sometimes cause sometimes they just can't get there, so we're talking about a bigger issue," Phyllis Coley said, a school counselor with the district.
One parent, Kelli Strand, said what the school board needs to focus on is students' mental health.
"They can maybe have, like, wholeness and wellness as an elective where children can actually choose an elective for the semester where it can either be therapy, it can be yoga, it could be mindfulness," Strand said.
Even students gave their two cents, one fifth grader saying active shooter drills need improvement.
"If you're in a school and there's a lockdown and the shooter comes in, he's gonna break down the door and shoot you. That's not safe," he said.
Wendy Bozel, a teacher in the district, said something needs to change about the way the budget is allocated for classroom supplies.
"In Baltimore City I kind of have to beg to my principal, 'Can I please have five books or a computer?' And if you ask any teacher, they will tell you that when they ask for something, they're told it's not in the budget," Bozel explained.
Councilman Antonio Glover said even though a lot of issues were raised, that means the night was a success.
"It was just basically bringing the community together, our young folks, our parents, so they could ask the tough questions. Maybe the questions we ask the school board commission ourselves, but now they get to hear it firsthand," Glover said.
And because the event was a listening session, the board didn't provide solutions to the problems addressed, rather saying they will get back to each person about what they want fixed at a later date.
The next listening session will be held at Patterson High School.
