History of Baltimore City College

The history of Baltimore City College began in 1839, when the city council of Baltimore, Maryland, United States, passed a resolution mandating the creation of a male high school with a focus on the study of English and classical literature. The Baltimore City College was opened in the same year with 46 pupils under the direction of Nathan C. Brooks, a local educator and poet. It is the third oldest high school in the nation. In 1850, the council granted the school the authority to present its graduates with certificates of completion. An effort to expand that power and allow City College to confer Bachelor of Arts degrees began in 1865, but ended unsuccessfully in 1869.

As the importance of higher education increased in the early 20th century, the school's priorities shifted to preparing students for college. In 1927, the academic program was further changed, when City College divided its curriculum into two tracks: the standard college preparatory "B" course, and a more rigorous "A" course of study.

The school underwent demographic changes following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education case that called for an end to racial segregation. African Americans joined City College for the first time in September 1954 and became a significant proportion of the student population by the 1960s. The school saw further changes in the student population with the admission of women in 1978.

Academic standards and enrollment at Baltimore City College (BCC) went through a period of decline in the 1980s and the early 1990s. The "A" and "B" courses were discontinued and a single academic track was offered.

In the mid-1990s, with an increase in funding from the school system, BCC began to experience a turnaround. Administrators re-strengthened academic standards and, in 1998, the school began offering the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program. By the beginning of the 2000s decade, City College was experiencing an academic resurgence. During this period the school was recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a National Blue Ribbon School, was listed as one of the top high schools in the United States by Newsweek.