City Springs Teachers Win 2015 Engelmann Excellence in Education Awards

City Springs Elementary/Middle School Pre-K teachers Nicole Lefrancois, Mallory Davis and Mindy Cipriano received Engelmann Excellence in Education awards at the 2015 National Direct Instruction Conference.

These three teachers have served their careers at City Springs. Fifty-nine percent (59%) of their most recent group of students were in the high risk category at the beginning of the year. By the end of the year, only 23% remained in that category. In math, 83% of the students were at risk for failure at the beginning of last year. By the end of the year the number had decreased to 32%.

Laura Doherty, President and CEO of the Baltimore Curriculum Project writes, "These three teachers exemplify the skill and intensity in instruction which is critical to helping students at risk of academic failure compete with their middle class peers. They also exemplify the warm, nurturing, positive environment all students deserve."

BCP would like to congratulate Ms. Lefrancois, Ms. Davis and Ms. Cipriano on this recognition of their outstanding accomplishments.

For more information about the National Direct Instruction Conference and the National Institute for Direct Instruction visit: http://nifdi.org/

BCP Holds 19th Annual Summer Training Institute

If you are a teacher, you probably remember what it was like on your very first day of school when you were thrown into the deep end and left to sink or swim.

Fortunately for new BCP teachers, BCP provides life vests (and sometimes life rafts) in the form of BCP's Summer Training Institute and ongoing in-class coaching support.

BCP held its 19th Annual Summer Training Institute for new and returning teachers during the week of  August 10, 2015. Academic Coaches Brenda Kahn and Marvelyn Johnson and Director of Student Support Services Jeff Krick conducted the week long training in classroom management for 36 teachers from City Springs Elementary/Middle School, Govans Elementary School, Hampstead Hill Academy and Wolfe Street Academy.

"[This was the] best PD I have been to since I can remember in my seven years of teaching in BCPS," wrote one teacher on the evaluation form.

"I wish I had this as a first year teacher. I learned so much."

Most educators agree that classroom management is one of the biggest challenges facing new teachers. BCP Schools use CHAMPS, a program of Safe & Civil Schools, that helps teachers to design (or fine tune) a proactive and positive classroom management plan that will overtly teach students how to behave responsibly.

"I want to thank all of the teachers who are new to our schools for working so hard at the summer CHAMPs training," said Mr. Krick.

"We believe that the hard work of organizing their behavioral expectations and preparing lessons to teach the children how to master the classroom routines and procedures will help everyone surpass their academic growth targets this year."

Teacher feedback on the training was overwhelmingly positive:

• "Thank you! One of the best PDs I've attended!"
• "I thought this PD was great!"
• "Everything was great! Very clear and interesting."
• "Very useful information that I will be able to implement."
• "Great sessions, thanks!"
• "Thank you! This was so organized and full of useful info. I enjoyed this PD!
• "CHAMPS expectations rules!"
• "Amazing! Great presenters, super informative!"
• "I thoroughly enjoyed Ms. Marvelyn's enthusiasm!"
• "This workshop gave me a much better handle on feeling like I might stay vertical the first week of school."

At the end of the week, teachers shared the "Best Ideas" they learned from the training. The list can be viewed at: http://baltimorecp.org/pd/2015BestIdeas.pdf

BCP's Summer Training Institute is part of BCP's comprehensive Professional Development (PD) program, which includes PD Conferences, in-class coaching, and the Novice Teacher Think Tank.

For more information about PD at BCP, please contact Larry Schugam at 410-675-7000 x17 or bcpinfo@baltimorecp.org.

City Springs Students Learn about the Watershed in Their Backyard

By Zachary Carey, Teacher, City Springs Elementary/Middle School

This year City Springs Upper School science students had the opportunity to take part in two new programs, Trout in the Classroom (TIC) and Your Watershed Your Backyard (YWYB). Trout in the Classroom allowed students to raise around 100 rainbow trout in our classroom. Your Watershed Your Backyard taught students about our watershed and the effects that humans have on it.

These programs were brought to City Springs through support from BioEYES of the Carnegie Institution for Science. BioEYES provided logistical and material support for TIC, while developing and presenting the YWYB program for our 7th grade students.

Students releasing one of the trout.

The Trout in the Classroom program began when we received 100 or so alevins, trout larvae, in January. Students from the City Springs Science Club maintained the trout's 55 gallon tank by checking the pH and ammonia levels, monitoring the tank temperature, and feeding the fish.  Each day after school different student groups had tank maintenance, which strengthened the students' teamwork and analytical skills.

Over the course of the program, all upper schools students had the incredible opportunity to observe the development of trout larvae into 3-4 inch long juvenile trout! The program concluded with a trip to Stony Run, a tributary of the Jones Falls near Hampden, to release the trout into their natural habitat.

The trout release trip coincided with the 7th graders' Your Watershed Your Backyard program. The success of the trip was thanks to an all-hands-on-deck effort by BioEYES, Blue Water Baltimore, Trout in the Classroom, and the Baltimore Curriculum Project. This work was made possible through the generous support of the Chesapeake Bay Trust.

These organizations allowed students to participate in enriching activities, including water testing, micro-invertebrate collection and observation, identifying and removing invasive species, hiking through the woods on a scavenger hunt, and of course, releasing our trout. The variety of activities provided an opportunity for students to stay engaged and find something uniquely interesting to them.

The release of the trout represented the exceptional work of our students, school, and the organizations that have supported them. Although seeing our finned friends swimming away was bittersweet, the students loved seeing the fish in their natural environment and luckily, next year we'll have the opportunity to take part in the program again!

For more information about BioEYES visit: http://www.bioeyes.org/
For more information about Trout in the Classroom visit: http://www.troutintheclassroom.org/
For more information about Blue Water Baltimore visit: http://www.bluewaterbaltimore.org/

Students cutting down wineberry, an invasive plant.

First Harvest from City Springs' American Heart Association Teaching Garden

By Abby Baldwin, Child First Authority Community School Coordinator at City Springs Elementary/Middle School

City Springs Elementary/Middle School had its first harvest of veggies this morning from the school's American Heart Association Teaching Garden. They found banana peppers and one cherry tomato ripe for the picking.

City Springs and BCP would like to thank the American Heart Association and CareFirst for the wonderful Teaching Gardens program. The students are excited to see their veggies growing!

For more information about the American Heart Association's Teaching Gardens program visit: http://bitly.com/ahagarden

BCP Schools Take Top Honors in Hopkins Science Fair

Congratulations to City Springs Elementary/Middle School, Hampstead Hill Academy and Wolfe Street Academy for winning first, second and third place respectively in the 2015 Johns Hopkins Community Science Fair on Thursday, May 28th.

Each year, area elementary schools are invited to Johns Hopkins to participate in the Community Science Fair. Each school is allowed to submit three projects for judging by Johns Hopkins faculty and staff, BCPS's administrative staff, and a special guest judge. First, second and third place prizes are awarded based on projects that exemplify ingenuity, clarity and presentation using the scientific method criteria.

Guest speakers at the event included Dr. Deidra Crews (Chair, Department of Medicine Diversity Council, Johns Hopkins Bayview), James Page (Vice President & Chief Diversity Officer, Johns Hopkins Medicine), Ashley Llorens (Senior Staff Electrical Engineer and Project Manager, Force Projection Sector, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory) and Edward McKay (Senior Operating Room Technician, Johns Hopkins Hospital).

BCP would like to thank Johns Hopkins Medicine East Baltimore Community Affairs for providing this wonderful opportunity for our students. For more information about the Community Science Education Program visit: http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/ebcommunityaffairs/csep.html

American Heart Association and CareFirst Promote Healthy Living at City Springs

By Robert Heck, Resident Artist at City Springs Elementary/Middle School

On Thursday, May 7th City Springs Elementary/Middle School held a special resource day, "Teaching Gardens", sponsored by CareFirst and the American Heart Association. We had a terrific day working with our students, talking about plants, how they grow and the food and nutrition aspects. Students planted approximately 150 vegetable plants including eggplant, peppers, and celery.

The students also participated in story times, made their own paper pots with seeds to take home, and ran on the athletic field as part of a fitness focus organized by Care First.

I had a chance to speak with our partners and highlight the important work we do here every day with our community. Dr. Richetta plans to have our students stay involved, caring for the plants and monitoring growth. Ms. Abby Baldwin, our Child First Community School Coordinator, along with our resource teachers, did a terrific job keeping the students engaged.

Thank You Mama's on the Half Shell and Nacho Mama's for Sponsoring BCP Fundraiser

We would like to thank Mama's On The Half Shell and Nacho Mama’s for donating the delicious dinner for the Baltimore Curriculum Project's fourth annual Are You Smarter than a BCP 5th Grader? fundraiser. Over 280 attendees enjoyed Chips and Salsa, Salad, Pizza, Chicken N'Orleans, Ultimate Fajitas, and Cookies.