BCP President on Poverty and Education in Colesville Patch

BCP President Muriel Berkeley and Chief Academic Officer Jon McGill comment on poverty and education in the Colesville Patch.

“The research that suggests that FARMS kids pull down the others is only true if the school isn’t good to begin with,” said Dr. Muriel Berkeley, president of the Baltimore Curriculum Project, a non-profit that conducts research on poverty and education and operates charter schools in Baltimore City.

“This issue across the country of parents getting worried because there’s a change in demographics and they think because there’s a sprinkling of poor kids coming in that it’s going to have a really negative impact,” Berkeley’s colleague, Jon McGill, chief academic officer at the project says. “The research suggests that that’s only true if there’s a problem with the school before those kids ever got there.”

Read the full article at: http://patch.com/A-j3kG

City Springs & Hampstead Hill Perform at Patterson Park

The City Springs School "Steppers" and Hampstead Hill Academy Drum Line performed at today's Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Patterson Park Youth Sports Center Powered by Under Armour. The event was attended by Governor Martin O'Malley, Baltimore City Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Baltimore City Council President Jack Young, Baltimore City Schools CEO Andres Alonso, and Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank.

Congressional Bank Sponsors Leading Minds Forum

We would like to thank Congressional Bank for their generous $1,000 sponsorship of BCP's 2011 Leading Minds Forum, The Impact of Poverty on Education, to be held on September 22, 2011 at Loyola University Maryland.

Congressional Bank is a community bank serving the greater Washington, DC area. For more information visit: https://www.congressionalbankonline.com

US Tennis at Hampstead Hill Academy

Over 400 students from Hampstead Hill Academy enjoyed a taste of tennis at today's school outing in Patterson Park. Staff and volunteers from the United States Tennis Association (USTA) showed up in force to introduce students to this engaging sport.

Students participated in a variety of drills that got them smiling and excited about the game. USTA's "10 and Under Tennis" initiative, using the QuickStart Tennis play format, uses balls that are easier to hit, smaller rackets, and smaller courts than adult tennis. All of this equals more fun and less frustration.

Next school year a partnership between USTA, Friends of Patterson Park, and the Baltimore Curriculum Project will bring tennis to all four BCP schools through physical education, after school clubs, and an intramural tennis league planned for spring 2012.

We would like to thank Marc Kantrowitz (President, USTA Mid-Atlantic/Maryland), Lynn Gertzog (Tennis Service Representative, USTA Mid-Atlantic/Maryland), Geri Swann (Community Outreach Coordinator, Hampstead Hill Academy), Tim Almaguer (Executive Director, Friends of Patterson Park), Katie Long (Recreational/Program Coordinator, Friends of Patterson Park), and all of the USTA staff and volunteers for making this event possible.