CINCINNATI — EdWorks, a subsidiary of Cincinnati-based KnowledgeWorks that specializes in high school transformation, has been asked by the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners to help turn around historic Frederick Douglass Senior High School.

 Douglass, whose graduates include Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and entertainer Cab Calloway, was founded in 1883 as the Colored High and Training School and is the second-oldest historically integrated public high school in the United States.

Today, 60 percent of the families of students at Douglass qualify for free or reduced meals under the National School Lunch Program. Its 2009 graduation rate was 55 percent.

EdWorks President Harold Brown said he is impressed by the tight-knit community of alumni and supporters who want to see Douglass succeed.

“This high school will be successful largely because of the passion of the community that wants Douglass return to its proud heritage,” Brown said. “This community has declared failure is no longer an option, and we are looking forward to a better Douglass Senior High School over the long term.”

 For Judge Nathaniel R. Jones, a KnowledgeWorks board member who retired as U.S. Circuit Judge for the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, being involved in the transformation of Douglass holds special meaning. In 1969, Jones became general counsel of the NAACP, a position previously held by Justice Marshall.  

“I take great pride in being able to play a role in the resurgence of historic Douglass Senior High School,” Jones said. “We owe it to Justice Marshall who argued and won the historic case of Brown vs. Board of Education, and the other giants produced by Douglass to continue their legacy and produce learners who will make their own mark in the 21st century.”

EdWorks will work with BCPS, Douglass and the community to focus on areas such as curriculum and instruction, aligned assessments and comprehensive student support.

KnowledgeWorks CEO Chad Wick called Douglass “one of the most historically significant high schools in the nation, and we are honored to offer our experience in improving the performance of high schools in some of the country’s toughest education environments.”

EdWorks has a track record of increasing high school graduation rates, raising scores on standardized tests and decreasing the achievement gap between minority students and their classmates. Its success is based on KnowledgeWorks’ Ohio High School Transformation Initiative (OHSTI), which had a positive impact on more than 50,000 students and trained more than 2,000 teachers in Ohio’s most challenging school districts.

In addition to its work in Baltimore, EdWorks is helping Detroit Public Schools turnaround six of the district’s most troubled high schools. In New York, EdWorks is working with the State University of New York to develop 11 Early College High Schools throughout the state.

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EdWorks, a subsidiary of KnowledgeWorks, is a high school turnaround organization that partners with schools, districts and states to provide effective, long-term solutions. EdWorks offers three different models of school design: High School Turnarounds, Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) schools, and Early College High Schools.