The Community School
Certified in 2014 as a small non-public diploma-awarding high school, The Community School in Remington has successfully served students who have failed in Baltimore City Public Schools for over 30 years. This storefront school provides up to 24 14-19 year olds with an accelerated academic and mentoring high school program that reinforces basic skills, while individualized instruction builds knowledge and skills for college, competitive employment, and community contribution. Over 40 volunteers work individually with students, and The Community School boasts a daily attendance above 95% and a college enrollment rate of 65%.
Maryland Alliance of Public Charter Schools
This Abell grant will support two-year operational funding to The Maryland Alliance of Public Charter Schools (Alliance) to serve the 50 charter schools in Maryland, 34 of which are in Baltimore City. As a voice for charter school communities, the Alliance advocates for equitable and transparent conditions for public charter schools; offers support to new and existing public charter schools; and drives the discussion around innovative educational practices that lead to positive outcomes for students. A major focus on this work is in Baltimore City, where 1 in 5 City public school students attends a charter school; 65% of Baltimore’s charter schools outperform the mean achievement performance of traditional schools.
Carnegie Institution for Science
BioEYES is a week-long, hands-on biology unit delivered by Carnegie science outreach educators (with co-teaching from City classroom teachers), using live fish as subjects. The program meets the Common Core science standards, and it demonstrates—and prepares teachers for—a student-centered approach to science instruction. BioEYES allows Baltimore City students and teachers access to the world of high caliber, Nobel Prize-level science. In a recent study (Shuda, Butler, Farber, and Vary, 2015), the authors found significant gains in students’ knowledge and attitudes towards science as a result of BioEYES.
It is expected that 3,400 8th grade students (approximately 60% of 8th grade students) will experience BioEYES in the 2019/20 school year, with the remaining teachers trained next summer.
Fund for Educational Excellence
Founded in 1984, the Fund for Educational Excellence (The Fund) is a Baltimore-based organization that supports public education through its fundraising and collaboration with Baltimore City Schools, convening and technical support to education non-profits. This operating grant enables The Fund to produce community-sourced education reports and then act upon recommendations, provide stewartship for over $20 million in philanthropic suport for innovative programs in City Schools, and convene diverse organizations and education partners to identify, facilitate and accelerate efforts to improve student achievement in Baltimore. Noteworthy are the Fund’s recent fundraising to support the City Sshools Blueprint, its grant awards to School Principals, and its operation of the successful Chicago Parents Program.
Baltimore Education Research Consortium (BERC)
For over 10 years, BERC has analyzed data from the National Student Clearinghouse and Naviance to provide Baltimroe City Public School principals and staff with the latest district- and school-level figures on college access behaviors, college enrollment and degree completion amoung City hgh school graduates. In an effort to both produce an annual report and reduce high costs, BERC will automate the development of the Baltimroe City College Fact Book. In addition, an updated, online College Fact Book will be published describing college access behaviors district-wide and by individual high school (i.e., applications, acceptances, FAFSA completions, college “match”, summer melt attrition), college enrollment, and degree completion for the Classes of 2012 through 2018.