When Jenna Crocker looks out her front window, she sees a decaying school building with open windows and boarded-up doors.

She has witnessed teenagers break into the former New Era Academy in Cherry Hill and come out with a pile of books they set on fire and light bulbs they threw at the building walls.

Fires, too, are frequent, residents said. And since the city temporarily closed a nearby dump, people have driven onto the grounds and dropped off everything from mattresses to trash and clothes, they said.

“It is kind of sad. It feels like no care for those historic buildings because they know some developer is going to sweep in,” said Crocker.

New Era Academy and the school next door, Dr. Carter G. Woodson Elementary/Middle School, were once central to life in Cherry Hill. Their campuses, with their playing fields and brick buildings, cover more than 20 acres of prime real estate just across the street from the Middle Branch Park waterfront.

Baltimore City Public Schools closed Carter Woodson in 2018 and then New Era in 2023. They were two of about 30 city schools closed in the past decade as enrollment shrank. In most cases, the school system turns vacant school properties over to the city government, but here the system has held onto the buildings at the request of community members who pleaded for a small high school.

Crocker is hoping someday to see the property redeveloped in a way that will give the community amenities they need, but that is unlikely to happen for years. While some closed city schools have been torn down or repurposed, many others are still sitting vacant, becoming targets for arson and vandalism. The city’s cost of caring for the vacant schools rose to $2.6 million in the 2024-2025 school year, according to city records.

Crocker and several other residents complained recently to city school leaders asking that changes be made to the property immediately. Crocker said she wants to see barriers put around the perimeter so cars don’t drive onto the roads on school property. And they asked for New Era to be boarded up.

A few days later, the school system sent a crew to put plywood across some entrances, but the building appears to be accessible through open windows.

Robert Hines, who attended the schools, said he has seen teenagers go in and out of the buildings. There are syringes and other signs of drug use, he said, and people experiencing homelessness have been living in the buildings.

“One of the residents in the area went in and saw used condoms,” he said. The buildings, he said, have burned so often that they will be expensive to repair. A set of portable classrooms, also known as trailers, were so badly burned that the roofs are gone and he believes they need to be torn down and hauled away. During another fire, Hines saw flames coming out of Carter Woodson’s windows, he said.

In a statement, the school system said it has “taken multiple steps to protect the property, including using reinforced materials to secure doors, windows, and other openings. All utilities—gas, water, and electricity — have also been shut off to reduce safety risks such as gas leaks, fires, and flooding."

Despite those actions, the statement said, there remain challenges in dealing with the vacant buildings.

At least 43 times in 2024 and 2025 police have been called to New Era and Carter G. Woodson to investigate arson, burglary and disorderly conduct, according to the Baltimore city schools.

In the long run, the school system will turn over the property to a development group. The school system is currently accepting proposals to develop the area and renovate the buildings.

Hines and Crocker are two of a handful of residents who have joined with We The People United for Change, a Baltimore nonprofit, to propose an adult literacy center, a small high school, a community center, a co-op grocery store and tiny homes.

A second proposal has come from Cherry Hill Strong, Seawall and Cross Street Partners, which said it will spend a year developing a detailed plan that includes a small high school after listening to the community’s views.

Hines and Crocker fear that their neighborhood of modest homes will be gentrified, with rent and property values becoming unaffordable for the people who live there now. With a $175 million plan to improve the Middle Branch waterfront on one side of the property and spruced-up rental units on the other side, the school campuses are a precious undeveloped slice.

It is unclear who will make the final decision on redevelopment of the property. The school system said in a statement that it will “continue to work closely with the city, Cherry Hill community and the state to explore ideas for the future use of the 21-acre property.”

Until the school system signs off on a proposal, the residents say they want to stop the intrusions and trash piling up. .

They would also like to see a dilapidated playground that children still use spruced up and the basketball court maintained. And they want children to be able to use the fields for soccer practice.

Hana Hawthorne, a Progressive Maryland organizer who is working with Hines and Crocker, wants action to prevent kids from breaking into the buildings.

“Somebody is going to get hurt.”

About the Education Hub

This reporting is part of The Banner’s Education Hub, community-funded journalism that provides parents with resources they need to make decisions about how their children learn. Read more.