Get Your Tickets for the May 25th Heart of the School Awards Today!
Join hundreds of community leaders, educators and families in celebrating City Schools principals, next Thursday, May 25th, for the 2023 Heart of the School Awards! Let’s show our principals that our Baltimore community supports them, appreciates them, and wants to be there to celebrate them. Don’t delay! Tickets are on sale through Tuesday, May 23rd!
Out of 770 nominations for 105 principals, five Baltimore City Public School principals were selected as winners of the 2023 Heart of the School Awards! We’re thrilled to shine a light on their exceptional work, as each has built exemplary school cultures where students are excited to attend school every day, teachers are inspired and valued, and parents feel welcome and included. The five winners are joined by five honorees, each of whom has demonstrated exemplary innovation, execution, and leadership in building strong school cultures.
Congratulations to this year’s Heart of the School Award Winners and Honorees! Each of the 10 are fantastic school leaders doing amazing things on behalf of their students. All 10 principals were recently interviewed – winners were featured on WBAL-TV 11 News and honorees were interviewed for Wake Up Baltimore, a local podcast. Check it out:
In the News: Heart of the School Awards Winners & Honorees
Read more about these outstanding principals on the Heart of the Schools website, here.
New Report: Should I Stay or Should I Go? The Continuing Story on Teacher Retention and Burnout in Baltimore City Public Schools
Over the last school year, a steady stream of stories about nationwide teacher shortages have continued to feature prominently in the news. What is lost in these stories are detailed accounts from those most acutely feeling the challenge – teachers. With a national narrative focused on the struggles teachers have faced during and after the pandemic, a key factor often excluded from the conversation is that the COVID-19 pandemic did not create new challenges for teachers in Baltimore City Public Schools—it exacerbated existing ones.
Our forthcoming report, to be published in June, examines the current and pre-existing challenges of teacher retention, recruitment and burnout in City Schools. Through in-depth interviews, a demographically representative sample of City Schools teachers shared with us their experiences in the classroom as well as what motivates them to stay, what could drive them to leave, and what would make them more satisfied in their teaching jobs.
In September, the Fund published the first installment of this research on teacher retention and burnout in a brief entitled Should I Stay or Should I Go? Staving Off a Teacher Shortage in Baltimore City Public Schools. Read our brief at https://ffee.org/teacherretentionstudy/
Share Some Love for City Schools Teachers and Staff!
Following the success of last year’s school-wide campaigns, the Heart of the Schools has relaunched an improved version of the Share Some Love initiative! Since launching the Share Some Love campaigns this past month, over 40 schools have signed up and received over 3,000 positive notes – and the number keeps growing!
Don’t miss out, there’s still time to share some love with participating schools! Visit heartoftheschools.org/sharesomelove to write a heartfelt message to your favorite Baltimore City Public Schools staff member letting them know how much you appreciate all they do to support our students. All notes will be shared with the person you select before the end of the school year!
If your school isn’t listed, reach out to your principal and ask them to opt in to this campaign!
Of Note:
Additional insights, updates and resources.
- A big shout out to the May Under Armour student-athletes of the month: Amiya and Lamont! Each month, Baltimore City Public Schools recognizes two high school student-athletes with a special Under Armour medal for their leadership and athleticism. Nominations are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the school year. Recognize a fantastic City Schools student-athlete, here.
- Congratulation to the 2023 Baltimore City Teacher of the Year, Jared Perry, a music teacher at Booker T. Washington Middle School for the Arts. Watch the announcement, here.
- From a transitional 9th-grade semester to enhanced language coaching, Patterson High and schools across Baltimore are offering a variety of tools to support students in learning (and mastering) English. Read this district Progress Report story for more, here.
- Thanks to the partnership between City Schools and the Pratt Library, students are developing the literacy skills and love of learning they need to succeed. See how in the district’s Progress Report story, here.