Baltimore’s Promise, Fiscally Sponsored by Fund for Educational Excellence
The Grads2Careers initiative seeks to establish a pathway for City Schools graduates who are not enrolled in four-year colleges or universities into well paying, high-demand, and high-growth occupations in the city and region. Phase I saw the 18-21 year old population served by Grads2Careers meeting the targets of 70% enrollment, 70% completion, and 70% or more participants being placed in job or enrolling in college. On a systems level, the initiative seeks to build capacity at the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development, City Schools, and with occupational skills-training providers as these various entities work together to better serve the 18-21 year old population seeking to enter the workforce directly after high school.
Baltimore Corps
The Baltimore Corps Mayoral Fellowship Program provides fifteen undergraduate seniors and graduate students a ten-week, full time, internship in high priority City Hall offices/agencies, working on Executive-level projects under key directors. In addition to their work assignments, participants attend weekly luncheons with pertinent speakers, do community service projects, and enjoy planned social events around the City. The ultimate goal of the Mayoral Fellowship is to encourage talented individuals, with an interest in public service to seek permanent positions within City government.
Teach For America-Baltimore
Teach For America’s organizational mission is to find, develop, and support equity-oriented leaders, to transform education and expand opportunity for children, starting in the classroom. Teach For America Baltimore utilizes a strategy of recruiting a diverse group of leaders from across the nation to commit at least two years of teaching to high needs classrooms. For the 2020-2021 school year, Teach For America seeks to strategically recruit and place 83-92 diverse corps members in difficult to staff teaching positions in low-income schools, alongside providing ongoing support to nearly 1300 alumni leaders working in various roles including principals, non-profit leaders, or other positions with the capacity to impact education throughout the city.
Patterson Park Public Charter School Inc.
Patterson Park Public Charter School is seeking to open a second campus within the Bayview area of Southeast Baltimore on the grounds of the Our Lady of Fatima complex. When at full capacity, Clay Hill Public Charter School (CHPCS) will serve 540 students and their families in Baltimore City. Key activities for phase one of the project include roof repair, window repair, an electrical upgrade, kitchen equipment installation, classroom and corridor improvements, bathrooms and health suite upgrades to become ADA compliant, as well as internet and technology installation. This grant will help with construction costs in preparation for opening of the new charter school in fall of 2021.
Holistic Life Foundation, Inc.
The Holistic Life Foundation (HLF) through its Mindful Moments program provides schools the opportunity to address climate and culture through a multi-tiered approach. The program is currently active in 23 schools and serves 3700 students throughout Baltimore. All students attending HLF schools receive the tier one supports by participating in the daily meditations and engaging in the classroom push in services provided by the mindfulness coaches. The most intensive, tier three students are able to self-refer or be directed by a teacher to report to the Mindful Moments room where they have time and space to decompress, cool down, talk to a caring adult, and ultimately return to the classroom better prepared to learn. The mindfulness practice, forwarded by the Holistic Life team equips students with much needed coping, relaxation, and centering techniques that can be employed universally, both inside and outside of the school setting.