Past Grants

Baltimore Urban Debate League

For the development and implementation of a full-scale in-house monitoring and evaluation system to track the league’s ability to influence student outcomes. The study will document student achievement in debate, GPAs, attendance, interest in academic pursuits, incidence of negative behaviors, number of college applications and admissions, literacy, and critical thinking skills during the 2006-2007 school year. Results will be published in summer 2007.

National Center on Institutions and Alternatives

For the purchase of equipment and supplies for a new Warehousing Vocational Program serving students with severe mental disabilities at the NCIA Youth In Transition School. Youth In Transition will provide students whose needs cannot be met in a traditional public school setting with skills training, job opportunities, and internships for jobs in the warehouse/logistics field.

Advocates for Children and Youth

For the Education Initiative, designed to support increased student achievement in Maryland K-12 public schools, with an emphasis on Baltimore City. The efforts will help to ensure full funding of the Maryland’s Bridge to Excellence in Public Education Act, designed to make recommendations for school construction funding, provide analysis of Maryland’s State Assessment Program, and produce an independent evaluation of the impact of Thornton public education funds on at-risk students in Baltimore City.

Core Knowledge Foundation

For continued implementation of the five-year demonstration project of the Core Knowledge Preschool Sequence in all Baltimore County Head Start Centers. The professional development and provision of resource and training materials in literacy, math, science, social skills, music, and art are intended to improve the quality of students’ achievement and increase the percentage of Head Start students deemed ready for kindergarten.

Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University

Continued support of the Music Teacher Mentoring Program for newly hired Baltimore City public elementary and middle school teachers for the 2005-2006 school year. The weekly program has been designed to upgrade classroom techniques and strategies by providing demonstrations, workshops, videotaping, and coaching. The purpose of the program is to support newly hired teachers by implementing enhanced music curricula that meet state and national standards, and to increase the retention rate of music teachers.