The Literacy Lab
As the first national replication partner of the successful Minnesota Reading Corps,The Literacy Lab’s core capability is delivering research and evidence-based literacy interventions to students in high poverty schools who are at risk for reading failure by the end of third grade. Partnering with Baltimore City Schools since 2016, Literacy Lab uses two models: in the Pre-K model, tutors are placed in a single classroom where they are trained to provide individual and small group literacy interventions. In kindergarten through third grade settings, the tutors provide pullout one-on-one reading interventions for 20 minutes daily, five days per week, to a rotating caseload of 16 to18 students. This Abell grant will support the expansion of Literacy Lab to 15 Baltimore City elementary schools and will serve close to 900 PreK-3rd grade struggling readers; 70% of participants will show significant growth.
Building STEPS, Inc.
Building STEPS provides promising students from Baltimore’s non-academic criteria high schools interested in science and technology (STEM) with an education in workplace dynamics and internships, as well as counseling in college and career choices in a program that spans from 11th grade through college to career. Building STEPS intends for 88 percent of its participants to earn a post-secondary degree, and the vast majority will be the first in their family to graduate from college. This grant will enable Building STEPS to expand the number of high schools it serves from 15 to 18-20, and increase the number of incoming 11th grade students to 150. Overall, the program will serve over 550 Baltimore City students/graduates ages 16-24 in the next year.
Baltimore Urban Debate League
The Baltimore Urban Debate League (BUDL), a national initiative, has reintroduced debate into Baltimore’s public school classrooms over the last two decades as a strategy to engage and inspire students from our city’s most under-resourced schools. BUDL has reached thousands of students from 4th grade to 12th grade, and changed their personal and academic trajectories by helping them discover their voice and reach their potential through debate. This grant will support the expansion of the Debate League to 46 schools and serve over 700 students in the 2018/19 school year.
Baltimore Teacher Supply Swap
In resource-strapped districts like Baltimore City, teachers spend an average of $600 of their own money each year for school supplies for their students. The Baltimore Teacher Supply Swap aims to lighten that burden by providing teachers with donated or surpassed supplies to support classroom learning. This grant supports the Swap’s Supply Mobile, which brings the most needed supplies directly to the teachers at their schools.
National Academic League
The National Academic League (NAL) is designed to address the disproportionate attention that is given to sports over academics and provides a scholastic extracurricular activity that boosts student achievement in middle school.
Middle and Elementary/Middle schools in 15 school districts across the U.S. are currently participating in the NAL. Introduced to Baltimore City Schools by the Abell Foundation in 1993, NAL has just completed its 24th year as a member of the league. This operating grant provides support for 22 middle school teams and over 450 students to participate in the October to March competitive season that provides academic preparation and mentoring from teacher coaches.