Saint Francis of Assisi is a Catholic parish school in northeast Baltimore. 

Although the church was founded in 1927, it was not until 1955, when the new church was built on the corner of Harford Road and Pelham Avenue, that the parish school opened with four classrooms, an assembly hall, and an office in the building the church had vacated. Three Sisters of Saint Joseph staffed the new school with an enrollment of eighty-eight students in grades 1, 2, and 3.  Mass of the Holy Spirit was celebrated in thanksgiving to God for blessings received and to ask God’s care and guidance for the future.  Archbishop Francis P. Keough blessed the classrooms during the first days in the new school.  During the summer of 1957, the second floor was added to the school.  This gave the school eight classrooms, a library and an office.  The first class graduated in 1961 with forty-two students.

    In September of 1989, a preschool was established at St. Matthew United Church of Christ.  Known as Mayfield Christian Preschool, it was originally co-sponsored by St. Matthew and St. Francis of Assisi and governed by the Mayfield Christian Preschool Board.  As time passed, St. Francis gradually assumed operational responsibility for the program, and in the summer of 2008 the preschool was relocated onto the first floor of our school.

    In the summer of 1997 we added a third floor to our school building. This expansion of our facility has enhanced the learning environment and made a statement to the neighborhood that St. Francis is committed to this area and to the city of Baltimore.

     The faculty consists of our principal, eleven full-time certified classroom teachers, a librarian, resource teachers, technology specialist, teaching assistants, and five part time “special” teachers: art, gym, liturgy, music and Spanish.

     The school is a very important part of the parish. May it continue to energize students and parents and continue to build Christ’s kingdom on earth.

 (Modified excerpt from Middle States Evaluation)