BCP President Muriel Berkeley on the Purpose of Public Education

BCP President Muriel Berkeley talks about school accountability and the purpose of public education during a Principals Panel Discussion at BCP's Fall Professional Development Conference on October 20, 2011.

The Conference provided over 300 teachers with a variety of engaging workshops. BCP offers customized workshops throughout the year that meet the staff training needs identified by teachers, principals and BCP staff members.

Collington Square School Principal Etta Johnson on the Purpose of Public...

Collington Square School Principal Etta Johnson talks about the purpose of public education during a Principals Panel Discussion at BCP's Fall Professional Development Conference on October 20, 2011.

The Conference provided over 300 teachers with a variety of engaging workshops. BCP offers customized workshops throughout the year that meet the staff training needs identified by teachers, principals and BCP staff members.

City Springs School Principal Rhonda Richetta on the Purpose of Public E...

City Springs School Principal Rhonda Richetta talks about the purpose of public education during a Principals Panel Discussion at BCP's Fall Professional Development Conference on October 20, 2011.

The Conference provided over 300 teachers with a variety of engaging workshops. BCP offers customized workshops throughout the year that meet the staff training needs identified by teachers, principals and BCP staff members

Hampstead Hill Academy Principal Matt Hornbeck on the Purpose of Public ...

Hampstead Hill Academy Principal Matt Hornbeck talks about the purpose of public education during a Principals Panel Discussion at BCP's Fall Professional Development Conference on October 20, 2011.

The Conference provided over 300 teachers with a variety of engaging workshops. BCP offers customized workshops throughout the year that meet the staff training needs identified by teachers, principals and BCP staff members.

Wolfe Street Academy Principal Mark Gaither on the Purpose of Public Edu...

Wolfe Street Academy Principal Mark Gaither talks about the purpose of public education during a Principals Panel Discussion at BCP's Fall Professional Development Conference on October 20, 2011.

The Conference provided over 300 teachers with a variety of engaging workshops. BCP offers customized workshops throughout the year that meet the staff training needs identified by teachers, principals and BCP staff members.

HHA Students Cook with Amplify Baltimore and Dangerously Delicious Pies

Students from Hampstead Hill Academy's Food for Life program make pie crusts with Amplify Baltimore and Dangerously Delicious Pies.

BCP Fall Professional Development Conference

BCP's Fall Professional Development Conference on October 20, 2011 provided over 300 teachers with a variety of engaging workshops. BCP offers customized workshops throughout the year that meet the staff training needs identified by teachers, principal and BCP staff members.

Common Core Sessions
During the morning teachers participated in hands-on Common Core Sessions, where they learned how instructional programs are aligned with the Common Core State Standards, as well as strategies for effective instruction. The session were conducted by teachers from City Springs School.

1. Common Core Language Arts: PreK- 2nd grade
   Presenter: Ms. Jenae Toulson, City Springs School
2. Common Core Language Arts: 1st and 2nd grade
   Presenter: Ms. Shereen Holmes, City Springs
3. Common Core Language Arts: 3rd - 5th grade
   Presenter: Ms. Laura Doherty, NIFDI Consultant
   
4. Common Core Language Arts: 6th - 8th grade
   Presenter: Ms. Vicky Jennings, City Springs School
   
5. Common Core Math: K-8th grade
   Presenter: Mr. Donnell Spedden, City Springs School

Hampstead Hill Choir and Principal Panel Discussion

During the afternoon break, teachers were serenaded by the Hampstead Hill Academy Choir. This was followed by a Principal Panel Discussion on school accountability, which was moderated by Muriel Berkeley. View video clips of the discussion at:
http://www.youtube.com/user/baltimorecp

Lunch was supported by a generous grant from McGraw-Hill School Education Group.

Afternoon Sessions

During the afternoon teachers engaged in a wide variety of workshops:

1. Math Learning Centers: PreK - 2nd grade
   Presenter: Brenda Kahn, Academic Coach
   Do you have more than one math group? Are you looking for opportunities to move beyond worksheets to provide practice for your students? Do your students struggle with mastering math concepts? This session will focus on the why and how of developing appropriate learning centers that enrich and support our math curriculum and the Common Core Standards. A variety of ideas and practical strategies for creating and implementing learning centers will be shared. We will also look at opportunities for incorporating math concepts and vocabulary into the classroom read aloud.
   
   
2. Active Monitoring
   Presenter: Jeff Krick, BCP Director of Student Support Services
   Why would a teacher wait to read a student’s independent work to know how they are learning? Teachers can use Active Monitoring practices to monitor student understanding and respond efficiently with targeted instruction DURING independent work time. Active monitoring can also be used to target motivation. Come join us and explore these techniques. This session will mix presentation, discussion, and video examples.
   
3. The Power of Words: Developing Vocabulary
   Presenter: Susan Lattimore
   Why is it critical to build our students’ vocabulary, and what does this look like in our classrooms? What techniques are proven to enhance the vocabulary skills of English Language Learners, students with learning challenges, and students who are impacted by poverty? Participants in this session will develop a practical understanding of the above issues, and will discuss how to address them across content areas. We will work together to develop materials and lessons that will jump start any vocabulary program and integrate it effectively throughout the school day.
   
   
4. Interventions: Behavior Management Training
   Presenter: Tara Anderson, BCP Director of Training
   Learn intervention techniques for those students with chronically challenging behavior. We will discuss strategies to correct and redirect disruptive behaviors and long term plans for support and monitoring of individual students.
   
   
5. Power Teacher Grade Book
   Presenter: Devin Stevenson, City Springs School Staff Developer
   PowerTeacher Gradebook is a full-featured grade-keeping application used to record, report, and monitor student performance. It promotes progressive grading methods, including grading student groups, easy creation of formative, summative, and diagnostic assignments, and multiple measures of central tendencies (mean, median, mode). It's designed to allow educators to assess their students' progress from many different angles in order to maximize student achievement.
   
   
6. Language Arts Brief Constructed Response (BCR) Instructional Support for grades 3-8
   Presenter: Marvelyn Johnson, Academic Coach
   PRESENTER: MARVELYN JOHNSON, BCP ACADEMIC COACH
   Are you new to the MSA testing grades? If so, this session is for you! In this session we will review the MSA scoring rubric for Language Arts BCRs and how to motivate and teach students to earn full points for their written responses. We will practice instructional strategies to teach students how to use the Answer, Text detail, Explain (ATE) format to develop complete responses. We will provide sample lesson materials that will help you teach your students how to take their answers from a 1 to a 3.
   
   
7. Impact of Poverty on Education
   Presenter: Jon McGill, BCP Director of Academics
   How can we address poverty and education at the same time? A look at the research into high poverty schools, the effects of poverty on child health and on learning readiness. This session includes information on what makes certain schools succeed and others fail.
   
   
8. Everfi Financial Education
   Presenters: Everfi Staff
   EverFi has built an entirely new framework to finance and deliver innovation into schools in such areas as Financial Literacy, Student Loan Management, Digital Literacy, Substance Abuse, Nutrition, Obesity, and other key issues. We enable students to learn using the latest technology, including rich media, high-definition video, diagrams and avatars. The EverFi platform is typically integrated into core courses to empower teachers and reach all students.

Men of Strength Club
A group of City Springs staff members also participated in a 2-day intensive training to prepare them to implement a Men of Strength Club at City Springs School. The Men of Strength Club, a youth development program of the Washington, DC-based nonprofit Men Can Stop Rape's , is the country’s premier primary violence prevention program for mobilizing young men to prevent sexual and dating violence. The Men of Strength Club, or MOST Club, provides young men with a structured and supportive space to build individualized definitions of masculinity that promote healthy relationships.

Thank you
We would like to thank all of the principals, teachers, trainers, and staff members who made BCP's Fall Profesional Development Conference possible. We would also like to thank McGraw-Hill School Education Group for providing lunch; Merritt Athletic Clubs for donating a one month membership for a teacher; and Lakeshore for donating $400 worth of gift to cards to help BCP teachers purchase school supplies. Special thanks to BCP Director of Training Tara Anderson for organizing the conference.

Standing Room Only at City Springs Back-to-School Night

Once again City Springs School's Back-to-School Night on September 29, 2011 was standing room only. Approximately 350 people attended. (Now that's parent engagement!) Congratulations City Springs.

To learn more about City Springs School visit: http://www.baltimorecityschools.org/8

Hampstead Hill Academy Students Visit White House

On October 12, 2011 more than 100 Hampstead Hill Academy students and staff participated in a physical education event at the White House. First Lady Michelle Obama hosted hundreds of area students in an attempt to break the Guinness Book of World Records record for the most people doing jumping jacks for one minute in a 24-hour period.

This was the U.S. kick-off for a worldwide attempt to break the record held by more than 24,000 people jumping jacks. The event highlighted the First Lady’s “Let’s Move” healthy living initiative.

WJZ press coverage of the event can be seen at:
http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2011/10/11/health-eating-initiative-gets-local-school-invite-to-white-house/

City Springs School Hosts USTA Tennis Training

On September 15, 2011 City Springs School hosted a free USTA school tennis workshop for physical education teachers and anyone working with sports programs in City Schools. Fifteen participants representing 11 schools/organizations participated.

Thank you to City Springs School for hosting the training; USTA for providing the training; and the following schools/organizations for participating:

• Belmont Elementary/Playworks
• Callaway Elementary
• City Springs School
• Federal Hill
• Friendship Academy for Science and Technology
• Gilmore Elementary
• Hampstead Hill Academy
• Loving Arms, Inc. (through Safe&Sound/Out of School Time Network)
• Lyndhurst Elementary/Playworks
• Patterson High School
• Waverly Elementary/Playworks
  

USTA Maryland’s mission is to promote the growth and development of tennis in Maryland as a healthy lifetime sport available to all regardless of age and ability. USTA Maryland fosters an inclusive tennis environment and greater diversity throughout the sport.
For more information visit: http://www.maryland.usta.com/

BCP Receives USTA Organization of the Year Award

The Baltimore Curriculum Project has received the US Tennis Association/Maryland Chapter's Organization of the Year Award. BCP Executive Vice President Larry Schugam was on hand Saturday to receive the award at the USTA Maryland's annual luncheon in Annapolis.

Last summer BCP launched a new Pre-K through 8 school tennis initiative incorporating 10 and Under Tennis. BCP has committed to bring tennis this year to nearly 1,500 students in all four of its schools -- City Springs School, Collington Square School, Hampstead Hill Academy, and Wolfe Street Academy -- through physical education, after school clubs, and an intramural tennis league planned for 2012.

BCP and USTA kicked off the initiative last June with a fun tennis outing in Patterson Park for over 400 students, followed this fall by an in-service training for BCP and other Baltimore City physical educators.

We would like to thank USTA/Maryland for this honor and for helping to bring tennis to our schools. Special thanks to USTA Maryland President Marc Kantrowitz, USTA Mid-Atlantic Tennis Service Representative Lynn Gertzog, and USTA Maryland 2nd Vice President Tim Almaguer for their support.

USTA Maryland’s mission is to promote the growth and development of tennis in Maryland as a healthy lifetime sport available to all regardless of age and ability. USTA Maryland fosters an inclusive tennis environment and greater diversity throughout the sport.
For more information visit: http://www.maryland.usta.com/

Hopkins Community Affairs Office Supports Science Education

We would like to thank the Johns Hopkins Government and Community Affairs - Office of Community Services for donating 10 microscopes and 25 goggles to Wolfe Street Academy to support science education. Thank you also to Carolyn Chance, Program Development Coordinator for the Office of Community Services, for making this donation possible.

Science teacher Maura Farrall was very excited about the donations...

Thank you thank you, thank you! Today I set up a table with 5 microsopes so students could look at everything from mosquito heads to a piece of their hair to pollen! They loved it! Even the kindergarten students were able to stand on a stool to use the microscopes! What a lot of excitement in science classes today..students who don't get to come until tomorrow are very excited because they heard about the new microscopes from others. We are about to start cell units, these microscopes are amazing! - Maura Farrall, Science Teacher, Wolfe Street Academy

The Johns Hopkins Office of Community Affairs serves institutional affiliates as well as others interested in the communities surrounding the institutions' campuses regarding local matters.
For more information visit: http://web.jhu.edu/administration/gca/community/