A year and a half since the release of our report, Not in Service: Why Public Transit Must Aim to Serve Students, read about where progress has been made toward transit equity for Baltimore City students and where it has stalled.

On Thursday, December 16th the Baltimore City Council held a virtual, public hearing about City Schools students’ experience commuting to and from school on MDOT MTA transit featuring testimony from Baltimore students.

The Baltimore Campaign for Grade Level Reading (GLR), an initiative of the Fund’s focused on engaging families in their child’s literacy development, is evolving. The Fund is transitioning GLR to expand and reimagine the work to focus on family engagement for all grade bands and academic areas.

The Fund’s Program Director Angelique Jessup; Shana McIver, Director of Family Engagement at City Schools; and Nerissa Holder Hall, founder of Mirror Mirror Books, discuss “Back-to-School Readiness” and “How to Set Children Up for School Success” on Straight Talk with Mike Gimbel.

The initial response to our latest report, NOT IN SERVICE, has been impassioned and encouraging, with local media helping to spread the word about a pressing set of issues that will require cooperation between local government, the MTA, and City Schools to identify and implement solutions.

A year ago, the Fund asked Baltimore City Public Schools students, teachers, and principals to share their experience shifting to distance learning. In this blog series, the Fund followed up with the same individuals for their perspective on the 2020-2021 school year.

Dr. Katrina Foster, principal of Hampden Elementary/Middle School, describes the challenges and uncertainty she faced while leading her school community through uncharted waters.

Wyatt Oroke, a middle school teacher at City Springs Elementary/Middle School, explains that it’s important to learn from this past year and rethink how we can provide a more equitable education system for all students.

LaQuisha Hall, City Schools’ 2018 Teacher of the Year, shares some of her insights since transitioning from her role as a classroom educator to a teacher leader coach.

Sidney Thomas, a Holabird Academy teacher, shares her view that the existing inequities exposed in the US educational system during this pandemic are a direct result of structural racism—where policies, practices and norms uphold white supremacy.

Kyair Butts, a Waverly Elementary/Middle School teacher, shares a message with his fellow educators acknowledging how they rose to the challenges of this school year.

Kyia Williamson, a Ben Franklin High School Senior, reflects on her final school year and the challenges of maintaining work-life balance.

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, this fund was created to provide vital resources to students and their families during the school closure period. Read on for an update of these supports.

Mavis Jackson, City Schools’ Director of College Readiness, provides an overview of the district’s 9th Grade On-Track Initiative and the problem this project aims to address.

Kevin Leary, Senior Program Director at the Fund for Educational Excellence, reflects on City School’s role during COVID-19 and shares his perspective on the rapid shift to remote learning.

Baltimore City Public Schools’ principals, educators and students share their experiences in adjusting to remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dyelle Washington, a Renaissance Academy student, describes the difficulties of distance learning and shares how her school leaders have helped maintain community during quarantine.

Stephanie Estep, a Ben Franklin High School student, shares how she’s used this time of quarantine for self-reflection and discusses the importance of maintaining human connection.

Madison Hall, a student at Bard High School Early College Baltimore, describes her school’s transition to distance learning and shares what her last semester of senior year has been like.

Kyia Williamson, a Ben Franklin High School student, shares what she misses about classroom learning and provides advice for how adults can support students during this time.

LaQuisha Hall, a teacher at Carver Vocational-Technical High School, emphasizes the importance of practicing self-care, especially during these unprecedented times.

Sidney Thomas, a middle school teacher at Holabird Academy, describes the challenges of transitioning from the classroom to remote teaching as well as trying to reestablish work-life balance during quarantine.

Wyatt Oroke, a middle school teacher at City Springs Elementary/Middle School, shares the importance of empowering his scholars to “tell their truths” during such uncertain times.

Kyair Butts, a Waverly Elementary/Middle School teacher, discusses how his students’ resilience and colleagues’ perseverance has kept him inspired as an educator.

Zaharah Valentine, principal of Baltimore Design School, provides her perspective on the challenges she and her staff are facing during this time.

David Guzman, principal of Mary E. Rodman Elementary School, calls for a collaborative effort to rethink and quickly adapt our learning model during this unprecedented time.

Joseph Manko, principal of Liberty Elementary School, describes how his school community has rallied to provide quality, virtual instructional tools and resources to students and families.

Dr. Katrina Foster, principal of Hampden Elementary/Middle School, describes how the unprecedented situation has given rise to collective support and solidarity in her school’s community.

The Kirwan Commission has the opportunity to transform education in Maryland. Our blog analyzes the Commission’s recommendations for career and technical education and its implications on equitable access to high-quality learning experiences.

Anthony Blake, ESOL educator and soccer coach at the National Academy Foundation, shares how the facilities upgrades and support from Under Armour have impacted the growth of NAF’s inaugural soccer program.

For five years, the Fund has created reports that examine the Baltimore City Public School system, hearing from more than 1,600 students, parents, teachers and community members and incorporating their ideas into recommendations for systemic improvements.