Latin Opinion Treats BCP Families to Zoo Bop

Baltimore Curriculum Project would like to thank our partner Latin Opinion for providing 35 tickets for BCP families to attend The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore's Zoo Bop, a new children's outdoor music festival with 2016 Latin Grammy Winner 123 Andrés​, on September 3, 2017! Latin Opinion was a partner for this event.

LATIN OPINION is a leader company in communication. The diversity of its services to offer has become one of the most important companies in the state of Maryland, United States.
Thanks to its commitment and support to the community and its customers, today the company maintains close relationships that makes it a reliable alternative to the development of Media Services.

Visit the Latin Opinion website at: http://latinopinionbaltimore.com/

BCP September 2017 Newsletter

BCP's September 2017 Newsletter includes:

• Baltimore Curriculum Project Summer Training
• City Springs Students Help Victims of Hurricane Harvey
• City Springs Starts the Year Off Strong
• Frederick's New Building, New Charter & New Principal Inspire Renewed Hope
• Govans Elementary "Blasts-Off" for Another School Year
• School Supplies Galore for Govans Elementary
• Supporting Your Child at Home: Tips from HHA Principal Matt Hornbeck
• Canela Hosts Fundraiser for Wolfe Street Academy's Physical Education Program

Read the newsletter at: http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?m=1102195073226&ca=4fc136ea-6c4c-4d08-9514-5a5d1fb2dca7

Govans Elementary Back to School Blast Off on August 26, 2017

City Springs Students Help Victims of Hurricane Harvey

Students at City Springs Elementary/Middle organized a Bmore4Houston fundraiser to support victims of Hurricane Harvey in Houston. They raised over $400, which will be donated to the American Red Cross. View the video at: https://vimeo.com/233377470

Govans Elementary Featured in Homeland Life Magazine

BCP would like to thank Elizabeth Reichelt for writing this wonderful article about Govans Elementary for Homeland Life magazine!

BCP August 2017 Newsletter

Middle Grades Partnership Alumnae

BCP's August 2017 Newsletter includes the following articles:

• Middle Grades Partnership Tackles Summer Slide for City Springs and Hampstead Hill Students
• Presenting the New Frederick Elementary Logo
• Loyola Students Produce Video of BCP's 21st Century Community Learning Center at Govans Elementary 
• Wolfe Street Academy Students Speak Out About Community Schools at Youth Voices Rising

BCP July 2017 Newsletter

BCP's July 2017 newsletter includes the following articles:

• OSI-Baltimore Brings the City Springs Restorative Practices Story to Budapest
• Frederick Elementary Gears Up for New Year and New Building
• Goldseker Foundation Awards BCP $30,000 Grant for Govans Community School Coordinator 
• Govans Community Saves Summer Program
• Exelon Hosts Tour for Hampstead Hill Academy Students
• Weinberg Foundation Awards BCP $200,000 grant for Wolfe Street Academy OST Programming
• Wolfe Street Academy Triumphs at Chess Tournament

Are You Smarter than a BCP 5th Grader?

THE 5TH GRADERS WON AGAIN!

Thank you Dr. Sonja Santelises, Maria Harris Tildon, Gilbert Sandler, Vytas Reid - WBFF Fox45 Baltimore, and Robert Heck for participating in the sixth annual Are You Smarter than a BCP 5th Grader? on April 21, 2017 at City Springs Elementary/Middle School.

BCP would like to thank all of our generous sponsors: Venable LLP, Mama's On The Half Shell, Nacho Mama’s (Canton, MD), WBFF FOX 45, McGraw-Hill Education, Chesapeake Employers Insurance, T. Rowe Price, Ernst & Young, WYPR, M&T Bank, Coppermine Fieldhouse, Congressional Bank, Pompeian, Summit Business Technologies, The Children's Bookstore, Executive Insurance Benefits, Leonard Paper Company, Maryland Mojo Photo (Photo & Video Booth Rental), MECU of Baltimore, Gerry's Tire and Automotive Service, Charm City Ice, Harris Teeter, and Target Store Canton. Thank you also to our "Charm City Gift Basket" raffle sponsors: American Visionary Art Museum, Baltimore In A Box, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Smyth Jewelers, and W. R. Grace and Company.

Special thanks to the event planning committee, volunteers, and table sponsors: Abby Carmean Baldwin, Laura Doherty, Bob Benjamin, Jenn Blois, Bailey Fine, Brad Gartrell, George Hess, Mo Jishi, Marvelyn Johnson, Brenda Kahn, Jeff Krick, Sue Lattimore, Jon Mcgill, Heather Mitchell Thurfield, Tobi Morris, Michael Niccolini, Tran Phung, Larry Schugam, Angela Scott, Scott Wolgamuth, and the volunteers from Target.

Frederick-Morse Community Dinner Presentation 032817

HHA Principal Interviewed on The Real Baltimore

Hampstead Hill Academy Principal Matt Hornbeck was recently interviewed on the latest episode of The Real Baltimore on The Real News Network.

"I think that small charters and small traditional schools both suffer from scale issues that are very difficult to overcome, and you can't have what looks like a school, if you don�t have a certain number of kids. My own experience in a school that's at scale, and large, and we have been able to resource everything we wanted to do over the years. And the Baltimore Curriculum Project is a great non-profit operator that's been around for two decades in Baltimore City, and they are good partners in the work. There are a number of charters suing the district for even more funding. Our school is not part of that lawsuit and we don't think that that is necessary," said Mr. Hornbeck.

http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=18858

BCP February 2017 Newsletter

Read the Baltimore Curriculum Project's February 2017 newsletter at:



http://myemail.constantcontact.com/BCP-Newsletter-Featuring-CASA--Exelon----Eddie-and-Sylvia-Brown-Foundation.html?soid=1102195073226&aid=yWymKnB82mA

Video: The Adolescent Literacy Crisis in America

View the video of the Baltimore Curriculum Project's most recent Leading Minds forum: "The Adolescent Literacy Crisis in America: at: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/100230980

For decades educators have attempted to avert the “fourth-grade slump” – the precipitous drop in performance experienced primarily by low-income children when reading texts become more complex and the subject matter broadens and deepens.

Despite the increased focus on early literacy instruction sparked by No Child Left Behind, millions of adolescents still struggle with low literacy skills. In 2015, 66% of all eighth-grade students, 85% of Black students and 79% of Hispanic students failed to perform proficiently in reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

Unless these students receive the intensive reading instruction they need in high school, their chances of graduating and securing gainful employment are slim to none.

On Friday, February 17, 2017 from 12:00 noon – 3:00pm the Baltimore Curriculum Project and the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy hosted the ninth Leading Minds forum: "The Adolescent Literacy Crisis in America."

Paneslists:

• Dr. Elizabeth Birr Moje, Interim Dean, University of Michigan School of Education
• 
  
• Dr. Rhonda L. Richetta, Principal, City Springs Elementary/Middle School
• 
  
• Dr. Sonja B Santelises, Chief Executive Officer, Baltimore City Public Schools
• 
  
• Dr. David M. Steiner, Director, Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy (moderator)

Video other Leading minds forum videos at:

http://baltimorecp.org/leadingminds/

BCP Leading Minds Forum: K-12 Math Education

BCP September 2016 Newsletter

Read the BCP September 2016 Newsletter at:
http://baltimorecp.org/newsletter/sept2016.html

This edition features:

• "Are You Smarter than a BCP 5th Grader?" on April 20, 2017
• How Does BCP Love Business Volunteers Maryland?
• City Springs Elementary/Middle Celebrates 50th Anniversary
• Govans Elementary "Back to School Blast Off" a Success
• New Offerings at HHA for School Year 16/17
• School Year Off to a Great Start at Wolfe Street Academy

Restorative Circles Offer A Daily "Recharge" for Govans After School Students

By Sarah Ceponis, Director, BCP 21st Century Community Learning Center at Govans Elementary

Every day at 4:15pm, students at Govans Elementary hear an announcement over the loud speaker, "Time to clean up whatever you're working on. The restorative circle topic to start thinking about today is....", followed by a hint about the day's discussion question. 

Students and staff of the Baltimore Curriculum Project's 21st Century Community Learning Center at Govans Elementary -- a program made possible by the Maryland State Department of Education -- have come to expect and enjoy their ten minutes to recharge and check in with one another between after-school academics and enrichment time.

In November, all after-school staff members received training in the fundamentals of Restorative Practices, a positive approach to conflict resolution that proactively builds relationships and a sense of community to prevent conflict and wrongdoing. Training was provided by Chella Drew, a Restorative Practices consultant and former Director of Restorative Practices at Hampstead Hill Academy.

Restorative Circles can be used proactively to develop relationships and build community or reactively to respond to wrongdoing, conflicts and problems. With everyone now used to the daily restorative circle, it is a habit that students look forward to. Circles provide a a time to think about and share whatever comes to mind around the daily question or "circle starter". They are a time to learn from and listen to one another. 

Questions of the day can range from why animals hibernate to standing up to a bully; from what type of person would make a good mayor to what you might do if you won the lottery, from how to be a good teammate to traveling the world.

Based on the day of the week, topics rotate among being community-themed, learning-themed, conflict resolution-themed, or simply "Fun Thursday"-themed.

All 90 students, from K through 5, tune in and talk about the same topic in their classrooms, and sometimes, conversations carry over to enrichment, the hallways, or dinner.

Using restorative circles daily, in a fun and structured way, allows after school students to get used to the goal of circles: everyone having their voice heard.

Regularly practicing their circle etiquette and skills with the whole class means that when circles are needed for other reasons-- mediation, misbehavior, or bullying-- students are prepared and ready to, again, make their voice heard, and listen to the voices of their classmates.

BCP and IIRP

BCP brought Restorative Practices to its schools in 2006 through the generous support of OSI-Baltimore and the Goldsmith Family Foundation. All administrators and staff members were trained by the International Institute for Restorative Practices (IIRP), which continues to be a strong BCP partner.

For more information about IIRP visit: http://www.iirp.edu/

Career Day 2015 at Govans Elementary

Govans Elementary hosted a Career Day on November 18, 2015 as part of the National Education Association's American Education Week.

We would like to thank the following guest speakers for participating:

• Nick Alexopulos, Associate Director of Media Relations and Social Media at Loyola University Maryland
• Muriel Berkeley, Member of the Baltimore City School Board of Commissioners and Founder/Former President of the Baltimore Curriculum Project
• Michael Bell, Military Pilot/Engineer
• Brandon Crowder, Area Leader at Procter & Gamble
• Matt Facchine, System Architect at Northrop Grumman Corporation and Baltimore Curriculum Project Board Member
• Councilman Bill Henry, Baltimore City Council
• Clarence Jeffers, Pharmacist
• Maggie Richard, Director of Professional Practice, Research, and Education for LifeBridge Health’s Sinai Hospital
• Lamonte Tyler, Senior IT Support Analyst at Fox News Channel
• Thiru Vignarajah, Deputy Attorney General, Maryland Office of the Attorney General and Baltimore Curriculum Project Board Member
• David Walsh-Little, Chief Attorney, Felony Trial Division, Baltimore City Office of the Public Defender 
• Marcus Washington, Anchor and Reporter, WJZ Eyewitness News

Nancy Grasmick Visits Govans Elementary for Ben Carson Reading Day

BCP and Govans Elementary​ would like to thank former Maryland State Superintendent Dr. Nancy Grasmick​ for serving as the guest reader at Govans Elementary School for the Ben Carson Reading Day on November 16, 2015.

Ben Carson Reading Day is an annual literacy event designed to raise awareness of the importance of everyday leisure reading.

Special thanks to the Carson Scholars Fund​ and Bank of America​ for creating the Carson Reading Room at Govans Elementary, which opened in 2011.

View the video at: http://www.abc2news.com/news/education/baltimore-schools-celebrate-reading-with-ben-carson-reading-day

For more information about the Carson Scholars Fund visit: http://carsonscholars.org/

Open Society Foundations Global Board Visits City Springs Elementary/Middle School

A group from the Open Society Foundations Global Board visited City Springs Elementary/Middle School on October 8, 2015.

The school was included on the tour because, in addition to being a BCP conversion charter school, City Springs is a Community School and the Open Society Foundations support Community Schools.

Child First Authority serves as City Springs' lead Community School Agency and Child First Community School Coordinator Abby Baldwin oversees the implementation of the Community School strategy at the City Springs. The strategy is supported by a generous grant from the Family League of Baltimore.

Joining Karen Webber from the Open Society Institute-Baltimore office for the tour was Director Diana Morris, who organized the site visit for Open Society Foundation’s regional Global Directors, who were in Baltimore for a senior management subcommittee meeting.

The group included Kenneth Zimmerman, Director of U.S. Programs, under which OSI-Baltimore falls. The other directors in attendance were from initiatives in Eurasia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa. Each director manages a vast breadth of social justice related initiatives specific to the region, education included.

BCP and City Springs would like to thank the Open Society Foundation for visiting our school. For more information about the Open Society Foundations visit: https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/

USDA Under Secretary Kevin Concannon Visits Hampstead Hill Academy

Under Secretary Concannon chats with an HHA student giving
visitors a tour of the school's organic garden

Hampstead Hill Academy hosted a visit with Kevin Concannon, Under Secretary for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services, on September 25, 2015.

Undersecretary Concannon, Delegate Keith E. Haynes, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Baltimore City Public Schools CEO Gregory Thornton and other attendees toured the school's organic garden and sampled food prepared by students in HHA's Food for Life Program.

Food for Life is run by HHA Food Educator Ariel Demas and is regarded as a national model for food education in public schools. Food for Life uses the Food is Elementary curriculum, which was developed by the Food Studies Institute (http://www.foodstudies.org/)

House Ways & Means Committee Visits Wolfe Street Academy

Thank you to Chair Sheila E. Hixson and the rest of the House Ways & Means Committee members who visited Wolfe Street Academy (WSA) on September 29, 2015 to learn about the Community Schools Strategy and Out-of-School-Time program at WSA.

Thank you also to the University of Maryland Social Work Community Outreach Service (SWCOS), Family League of Baltimore, The After-School Corporation (TASC) and The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation for supporting WSA.