Research for the benefit of Baltimore’s children and families

The Baltimore Education Research Consortium (BERC) is a partnership of the Baltimore City Public School System (BCPSS), The Johns Hopkins University, Morgan State University and others. BERC’s mission is to conduct and disseminate long- and short-term strategic data analysis and research for the benefit of children and families of Baltimore.

BERC’s vision is to bring the time, efforts, and expertise of its participants to bear on questions of critical importance to the welfare of Baltimore’s children. The memorandum of understanding approved by the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners in the summer of 2007 calls for BERC to be a constructive part of the efforts and public conversation surrounding the education of children in Baltimore’s public schools. BERC’s findings are intended to be useful to school system leaders, BERC researchers, and the larger community as they design practical responses to challenges highlighted, advocate for resources, and capitalize on promising practices or levers for positive change.

As BERC researchers study educational processes and student outcomes, they aspire to assemble a longitudinal database that combines data from the Baltimore City Public School System with information about social services, vital statistics, and neighborhood context.