Dream Academy: New Opportunities for Artist-Integrated Education in Southwest Baltimore

Big changes are coming to the elementary/middle school that has served Southwest Baltimore communities for decades. Under the leadership of Principal Danielle Davis and the nonprofit Arts for Learning Maryland, Thomas Jefferson Elementary/Middle School is transforming into a charter school called Dream Academy— Maryland’s first fully artist-integrated school.

What to Know for This School Year

Dream Academy will continue to serve as the neighborhood school for children living in the neighborhoods of West Hills, Hunting Ridge, Uplands, Ten Hills, Westgate, and Franklintown. They will also take applications and conduct a lottery for Baltimore City students in grades Pre-K through 8 living outside the zone. Submit your application before the citywide charter deadline of Monday, February 2, 2026, to be considered for the 2026-2027 school year.

About the Charter Operator

Arts for Learning Maryland (A4L), formerly Young Audiences of Maryland, has provided arts-integrated learning opportunities to Baltimore kids since 1950. A4L has worked closely with this school community since 2014 as the original host location of their popular program, Summer Arts for Learning Academy (SALA). This free, full-day, five-week learning experience now serves around 3,000 students each summer. Their arts-integrated learning model has demonstrated consistent academic and social-emotional impact on participants over the past decade.

A new spin-off organization, A4L Charter, will operate Dream Academy under the direction of Executive Director Kurtis Donnelly. Dream Academy will employ six full-time teaching artists—one for every two classrooms—who will collaborate with classroom teachers to infuse the arts into every aspect of learning and community life. Artists and teachers will work intentionally alongside each other to ensure that students achieve academic excellence and develop the skills and confidence needed to succeed as creatives, citizens, and lifelong learners.

Community Support

This transformation has been underway for years, with over 1,000 students, families, staff, and artists involved in the conversion process. Community support has been strong. Teachers from Thomas Jefferson are excited about becoming Dream Academy, with over 90% of school staff voting in support of the change.