BCPS expanding middle school athletics

Swimming is the latest sport the Baltimore Public School System is adding to middle schools.

On Tuesday, superintendent Dr. Sonja Santelises announced the official start of the new program.

“This is a vision not just about sports, but about expanding opportunities for Baltimore’s youth to discover their talents," says Dr. Sonja Santelises, Superintendent of BCPS.

The new lessons are part of the expansion of middle school athletics, which started in 2023 with cross country and flag football.

Baltimore City schools now partner with 13 vendors for all types of sports to expose students to different sports.

• Baltimore Rowing
• First Tee Golf
• Game on Fitness
• Girls in the Game
• Girls on the Run of the Greater Chesapeake
• Gooseneck Sports
• Harlem Lacrosse
• National Coalition of Women’s Athletics
• Soccer Without Borders
• SquashWise
• The Little Leagues
• The Y in Central Maryland
• Whole Person Whole Life Sports

Students from Rosemont Elementary/Middle School showed off some of the skills they have been learning for the last few weeks.
Some are learning the basics, like how to float, while others are already taking a few laps.

The announcement was at the YMCA in Druid Hill, with Mayor Scott emphasizing the significance of the location.

“The same Y where justice Thurgood Marshall learned how to swim. It is not lost on me who is in the pool today, black and brown kids from Baltimore. We know that black children are three times more likely to drown than white kids, and 64% of black kids cannot swim," says Brandon Scott, Baltimore Mayor.

The new program offers swimming lessons after school to the students who sign up to participate.

As of now, there are no teams at the middle school level.

“But our hope is that the students feel comfortable and they learn, and then they would like to move on to competitive swimming, particularly as they matriculate up to high school," says Tanisha Montgomery, Coordinator of Athletics, BCPS.

Alongside swimming in the spring, Baltimore City Schools now offer seven different sports this fall: cross country, flag football, indoor/outdoor bocce, volleyball, as well as track and field.

Since the swimming program has just started this month, there are only three middle schools involved, but the school system is working to expand access to the program to all middle schools in Baltimore City.