Baltimore HS student fails all but 3 classes over 4 years, ranks near top half of class

A Baltimore high school student failed all but three classes over four years and almost graduated near the top half of his class with a 0.13 GPA, according to a local report. 

Tiffany France, the mother of the failing student, thought her son would be receiving his diploma from Augusta Fells Savage Institute of Visual Arts in June. However, she was surprised to discover that he is being sent back to the ninth grade to start over.

"He's stressed, and I am, too. I told him I'm probably going to start crying," France told FOX 45 Baltimore.

France expressed frustration with the school, asking why her son would have to complete three more years of high school after "the school failed him." 

France's son failed 22 classes and was late or absent 272 days over his first three years of high school. Only one teacher requested a parent-teacher conference, but France said that didn't happen. Despite this, her son still ranked 62nd in his class out of 120 total students.

"The school failed at their job. They failed. They failed, that's the problem here. They failed. They failed. He didn't deserve that," she said.

FOX 45 found that hundreds of students are flunking classes at the Augusta Fells Savage Institute of Visual Arts in west Baltimore.

France says she has three children and works three jobs, and didn't realize her son was failing until February. Even though he was failing classes, the school continued to promote him; after failing Spanish I and Algebra I, for example, the school still allowed him to take Spanish II and Algebra II.