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%.
Baltimore’s Promsie
Launched by a diverse group of civic leaders in 2014, Baltimore’s Promise is a collaboration to create a cradle to career pipeline to success for youth in Baltimore City by coordinating strategy, identifying quality programs, establishing shared outcomes, building public will, and advancing good policy. In Year 5, the work will focus on the implementation of the Grads2Careers occupational training scholarships for 2018/2019 graduates from Baltimore City Public Schools and the development of an Integrated Data System.
The Gil Sandler Fund, Inc.
Baltimore City College’s Speech and Debate extracurricular program traces its beginnings to 1878. Revitalized in 1997 by Gil Sandler and Abell Foundation funding, The Speech and Debate team has grown into a regional and national powerhouse for preparing up to 70 students annually for competitive colleges, This grant provides a $100,000 contribution to the Speech and Debate endowment fund in honor of the passing of Gilbert Sandler, and two years of operating funding at $25,000 per year.
University System of Maryland Foundation
The major thrust of the three-year B-Power initiative is to coordinate, enhance and expand dual enrollment options offered jointly to Baltimore City Schools by University of Baltimore, Coppin, Morgan and Baltimore City High Schools with a goal to serve 525 high school students annually by 2021. In the next 18 months, UB will collaborate with BCCC specifically to improve the access of students to credit coursework in math, adopt UB’s successful 2 semester college readiness course eliminating ACCUPLACER, and improve the quality of instruction. In addition to the already-funded 230 UB dual enrollment seats for 2019-2020, this project will add 60 seats each semester at three new high schools. The grant will also develop a full menu of dual enrollment options at the 4 higher ed institutions by the 2020-2021 school year.
Arts Education in Maryland Schools Alliance
Since its founding in 1992, Arts Education for Maryland Schools (AEMS) Alliance has worked to ensure that all of Maryland’s public schoolchildren have consistent and equitable access to high quality arts education. In Baltimore City, arts education is largely uncoordinated, with unevenly distributed resources and nonexistent or incomplete data. This grant will support a three-county pilot of the Artlook Data Map, a searchable database that provides information about arts courses at each school, the percentage of students enrolled, and the community arts partners who work there. Ultimately, Artlook will increase accountability and promote equitable opportunities for arts education in Maryland public schools.