Strong Schools Maryland, Fiscally Sponsored by Fund for Educational Excellence
Strong Schools Maryland, founded in spring 2017, is an educational advocacy organization with a goal for an adequately funded education system in which virtually all Maryland students graduate on time from high school. Strong Schools is committed to securing the legislative votes to override the gubernatorial veto of the 2020 Blueprint for Maryland’s Future. Now, working as a permanent organization, Strong Schools will continue its grassroots statewide advocacy to monitor the full implementation of the Kirwan Commission recommendations.
Southeast Community Development Corporation
Southeast CDC will continue to implement an eviction prevention program called “Family Stability for our Community Schools” in Southeast and East Baltimore. The program is based on a national model combining intensive casework, connection to resources and emergency funding, aimed at preventing families and children from the destabilizing effects of eviction, successive moves, change in schools and homelessness. The need for this type of program has become more urgent with COVID as work hours have been cut or eliminated, past due bills accumulate and compounding this, many immigrant families served through the program cannot take advantage of public benefits offered to citizens.
South Baltimore Learning Center
South Baltimore Learning Center (SBLC) has provided adult education services for nearly three decades, serving over 700 adult students each year. Three years ago, with funding from the Abell Foundation, SBLC established an office and classroom at the Regional Skills Training Center in Park Heights. Working with sector skills training programs, SBLC provided 60 students with remedial instruction in math and reading. On average, students gained 2.5 levels in reading and 4.0 levels in math. These gains were achieved over an average of 30 hours of instruction. With continued funding from Abell, SBLC will enroll 81 students into remediation programming, with the goal of 55 (or 68%) achieving the reading and math levels required to enroll in the sector skills training programs.
The Samaritan Community
The Samaritan Community provides support to families and individuals who are in crisis, using an individualized approach that addresses the unique needs of each client. The vast majority of clients served are unemployed, and many have chronic illnesses, including mental health and substance use disorders. The center’s programs include a food pantry, emergency financial assistance, individual and group counseling, and referrals. This grant supports the Samaritan Community’s regular programs, as well as a special fund established to meet the needs of clients who have been directly impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic.
NorthBay Education
NorthBay Academy is a sixteen-week, residential educational program provided to 300 Baltimore City Public Schools sixth graders during the first semester of the 2020 school year as a response to the Covid pandemic. Students attending NorthBay Academy will be provided hands-on science instruction, character-building activities, teamwork and challenge based activities, and individualized reading tutoring, alongside their typical routine of virtual instruction provided by their classroom teachers. The Academy is designed to accelerate student learning and provide educational stability for students whose instruction may be impeded due to the challenges of virtual learning.