Announcing the 2022 Heart of the School Honors Event
In January, hundreds of Baltimore community members nominated exceptional City Schools principals who have demonstrated exemplary innovation, execution, and leadership, building strong school cultures. After reviewing nominations for a record number of principals, it became clear that in these extraordinary times there’s more reason than ever to recognize every principal’s courage, care and commitment to the students and communities they serve.
On Thursday, June 9th, the community will celebrate every Baltimore City Public School principal at the 2022 Heart of the School Honors at the Baltimore Museum of Industry. The 2022 Heart of the School Honors will replace the annual Heart of the School Awards, which will return in 2023 to again spotlight 10 exceptional leaders.
Thank you to all who nominated a fantastic school leader—your accounts of the heroic efforts of our city’s principals made it clear that we should honor all those leading schools this past year. We look forward to celebrating every principal in June!
NOT IN SERVICE: Community Convening and Teachers’ Democracy Project Weekly Podcast Recap
Throughout the month, we continued our ongoing transit advocacy efforts spotlighting City Schools students’ experience with public transportation. On March 1st, Baltimoreans for Educational Equity (BEE) and the Fund for Educational Excellence hosted a community convening in which panelists shared the transit challenges faced by Baltimore City Public Schools students commuting to and from school, internships and jobs. The convening focused on ways to support current transit legislation so students can receive the reliable, frequent and safe public transportation they deserve.
Watch the Full Discussion Here
For a highlight of some of our favorite remarks from the community convening check out BEE’s tweets on this thread.
On March 7th, Ruth Farfel and Kwane Wyatt, both authors of our NOT IN SERVICE report, joined the Teachers’ Democracy Project for a conversation about Baltimore City Public Schools students experience with public transportation on their weekly parent power podcast.
Watch the Podcast Playback here
Interested in advancing transit equity? Check out the Fund’s NOT IN SERVICE webpage for immediate actions you can take to get involved in transportation advocacy: https://ffee.org/not-in-service/
Welcome, Erin Cunningham!
The Fund for Educational Excellence is thrilled to welcome Erin Cunningham as our new ChiPP Program Associate! Erin works closely with the Analysis and Engagement Program Director to coordinate and manage the Chicago Parent Program (ChiPP), an early-childhood development parenting program, in elementary schools across the district. Erin brings with her 15 years of city government experience supporting efforts to reduce community violence and support families impacted by intimate partner violence. She holds a B.A. in History from the University of Chicago and a M.S.W. from The University of Maryland School of Social Work.
Of Note:
Additional insights, updates and resources.
- School Choice Update: For families who missed the original choice application deadline or want to try to apply to a different school than the one they were placed in, Baltimore City Public Schools is offering a second round of choice. The deadline to fill out the updated choice application is April 15th. Decision letters will be mailed out by May 20th. For more information click here.
- Every month, Under Armour’s Student Athlete Leadership Council convenes student athletes from every high school to explore leadership, individual growth, teamwork, and their impact on the world around them. Learn more, here.
- Transportation 101 Workshop: The Central Maryland Transportation Alliance is accepting applications for the spring 2022 session of Transportation 101. T101 will be a weekly series of 5 in-person sessions that will run from May 11 through June 8, 2022. All applications are due April 20. Apply now!
- City Schools Navigator Center is helping Baltimore’s student transition from high school. Check out this recent blog from the Annie E. Casey Foundation to learn how, here.
- Baltimore’s Promise is looking to bring together a group of young people from across the city in paid leadership positions making key decisions in the distribution of $500k in resources toward services that support young people’s success following high school. Learn more, here.