Matthew A. Henson Elementary

Set in Baltimore, Maryland, Matthew A. Henson Elementary is a small K-5 school, part of Baltimore City Public Schools. It educates 199 students across grades pre-K through 5. Enrollment runs roughly 59% smaller than the state mean of about 481.

Baltimore City Public Schools runs 152 schools in total, collectively educating 76,946 students. Matthew A. Henson Elementary is one of those campuses.

In terms of who attends, Matthew A. Henson Elementary lists that nearly all students (89%) are Black. The remainder is composed of 8% Hispanic, 2% White. That is noticeably more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 59%.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Matthew A. Henson Elementary logs 13 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 15.9:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.8:1, putting Matthew A. Henson Elementary higher than the state norm the norm. An estimated 86% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. That share is above Baltimore city's rate of about 74%.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Matthew A. Henson Elementary sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 23.4%; this one delivers 30.4%.

Across the wider county, census data for Baltimore city shows the typical household earns roughly $62,177 per year, 36% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 15% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Baltimore city's 156 public schools (combined enrollment of about 77,341 students), Matthew A. Henson Elementary is one campus in the mix.

Carver Vocational-Technical High is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.2 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Matthew A. Henson Elementary. On composite proficiency, Matthew A. Henson Elementary comes 1st of 7 in the immediate cluster, above the nearby-schools average of 15.6%.

The school occupies a city-core site.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Matthew A. Henson Elementary has shrank 45%, going from 360 students in 2018 to 199 in 2025. The Black share of enrollment contracted from 98% to 89% over that span. Class-load math has fell: from 18.9:1 in 2018 to 15.9:1 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, posts here usually surface around classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.