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Liz Bowie

Liz

Liz Bowie is a Maryland education reporter for the Baltimore Banner. She covers how statewide education decisions are made: Who wields the power, who wins, who loses and what that means for Maryland's kids. She spent more than two decades covering city, county and state education issues for The Baltimore Sun. Her favorite stories are those that focus on students. She was a Spencer Fellow in Education Reporting at Columbia University. She grew up in Baltimore.

The latest from Liz Bowie

Baltimore City school ratings by the numbers: Scores are trending up
Nearly half of Baltimore City schools earned at least three stars out of five stars in the state ratings this year, up from 35% last year.
Baltimore City school ratings increased this year.
New job just dropped. Want to lead Baltimore City schools?
The new CEO could earn up to $375,000 annually.
Baltimore City public schools CEO Sonja Santelises makes her annual visit to city schools on the first day of the new school year on Aug. 25. This is her last year in the position.
Shoppers to close 4 more stores in Central Maryland
The discount food retailer is beloved by some customers for its doughnuts, but has also struggled to improve its bottom line.
Shoppers in Germantown, which is being closed down. The grocery chain’s colossal doughnuts are a customer favorite.
Somerset superintendent exits amid months of conflict with MAGA-aligned school board
The Somerset County school board voted Monday to part ways with its superintendent after months of turmoil in the school system.
Somerset County Board of Education in Westover, MD, Saturday, July 26, 2025.
South Baltimore’s closed schools are prime real estate. For now, they’re full of trash.
While they wait for a developer, two Cherry Hill school buildings have been burned, vandalized and used as a dumping ground.
Trash and abandoned furniture on the grounds of the former New Era Academy school in Cherry Hill.
Baltimore’s education dynasty gathers around a Roland Park dinner table
Around the Hornbeck family table are two Baltimore school principals, a former Maryland state superintendent of schools and two teachers.
The Hornbeck family, including from left Matt Hornbeck, David Hornbeck, Becky Hornbeck and Mark Gaither, gathers for dinner.
Maryland’s messiest school district gets its dirty laundry aired
Somerset County’s school board accused its superintendent of insubordination. She said the board chair threatened her before she left town.
Two lengthy opinions from the state board of education shed light on the dysfunction in Somerset County schools.
Maryland names 7 Blue Ribbon schools after feds end national awards
Maryland had ended its program after the 2019-2020 school year but will now resurrect it.
Students at St Joseph School celebrated their Blue Ribbon win with cheers, signs and confetti on Sept. 23, 2024. The U.S. Department of Education ended the national program this year.
Somerset County school board retreats online after heated meetings
The board’s decision came after two meetings in which a parent was escorted out of the room after forcefully questioning the board and raising his voice.
A still from the livestream of the last in-person board meeting on August 19 as parent Joe Hylton speaks before the Somerset County school board.
Baltimore Banner names Audrey Cooper, experienced newsroom executive, to top editing job
Audrey Cooper helped usher the country’s most listened-to public radio station and the San Francisco Chronicle through integral change.
Incoming Banner Editor-in-Chief, Audrey Cooper.
Howard, Anne Arundel, Baltimore City educators finalists for Maryland’s top teacher
The Maryland Teacher of the Year will be announced at a dinner on Sept. 26.
Three Baltimore-area teachers are among the seven statewide named finalists for the title of the state Teacher of the Year.
Maryland students struggle with math, leaving a generation in trouble
From wealthy suburbs to rural hillsides, Maryland public school students on average aren’t great at math.
5 things to know about Somerset County’s education fight
It’s about more than trying to remove the school district superintendent.
Somerset County Board of Education in Westover, MD, Saturday, July 26, 2025.
Federal education officials investigating Baltimore schools for antisemitism
An ADL complaint alleged that Baltimore school officials ignored incidents of antisemitic discrimination and harassment.
The Baltimore City Public Schools Administrative Headquarters on Tuesday, July 22, 2025.
State warns Eastern Shore school district seeking to oust superintendent
Maryland's schools leader says they could withhold funding or seek to remove school board members if Somerset County tries to oust its superintendent.
Baltimore schools ignored antisemitism complaints, ADL alleges
Baltimore City Public Schools, the complaint says, knew its schools were hostile places for Jewish students.
An ADL complaint says the Baltimore school system, which is headquartered on North Avenue, hasn't done enough to address what the group says is harassment of Jewish students.
How a MAGA school board takeover roiled an Eastern Shore county
After a MAGA-aligned majority took control of Somerset County's school board, they tried to get rid of librarians and fire the superintendent. The community pushed back.
Somerset County Board of Education in Westover, MD, Saturday, July 26, 2025.
Baltimore Police investigating pornographic school board interruption as hate crime
In an email Wednesday, the Baltimore City school system apologized to the community after the pornographic interruption.
The Baltimore City Public Schools Administrative Headquarters on Tuesday, July 22, 2025.
Long bus rides limit students’ school choices, Hopkins study finds
Baltimore high school students are less likely to pick a school — even the city’s best — if they face a long trip on Maryland’s unreliable transit system.
Baltimore city buses pick up students outside Dunbar High School in June.
Who will be Baltimore’s next school leader? It may take nine months to find out.
The board is expected to be interviewing candidates this fall with a new CEO hired by April.
Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners vice chair Ashiah Parker, left, and chair Robert Salley earlier this year. The school system plans to hire a new CEO by April.
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