Summer STEM Program Fosters Innovative Thinking

From custom-made habitats for hermit crabs to motorized boats that clean up oil spills, the culminating projects of students in City Schools’ four-week STEM program reveal top-notch thinking and a summer full of learning. On Fri., July 29, students from the program showcased their creations at seven summer learning sites across the district: Sarah M. Roach Elementary School, Commodore John Rodgers Elementary/Middle School, Patapsco Elementary/Middle School, Dr. Nathan A. Pitts-Ashburton Elementary/Middle School, Samuel F. B. Moorse Elementary School, Frederick Elementary School and Beechfield Elementary/Middle School.

Families and community members browsed the finished products of an innovative program that integrates learning in reading, writing, math, science and engineering. “The program offers the very best in education by combining hands-on learning in the sciences with reading, writing and math—and tying it all together in a series of engineering challenges,” explains Katya Denisova, a science coordinator at City Schools. “It mirrors the kind of projects that take place daily in the workplace—collaborative, interdisciplinary, thought-provoking and applied.”

Stay tuned for highlights of the culminating event.

Northwestern Student Earns CISCO Certification

By Stanley Wolfe
Staff Associate, Northwestern High School

Nandkumari Behari, a junior at Northwestern High School, became the first City Schools high school student to earn certification as a CISCO Certified Entry Level Networking Technician (CCENT). CCENT covers networking knowledge and was developed in 2007. Certificate holders can install, manage, maintain, secure and troubleshoot a small enterprise network. Behari’s instructor, William Alexander, expressed how proud he was of Behari’s accomplishments: “At the beginning of the school year, it was the goal of all of the CISCO teachers to elevate at least one student to earn the CCENT certification.”
 
When asked about her achievement, Behari said: “I’m excited that all of my hard work has finally paid off. At first I was unsure of the CISCO program because I was really into writing and poetry, but I was drawn to the challenge.” She thanks her teacher, Mr. Alexander, for motivating and believing in her, and she plans to pursue a career in the IT field after college.

Sustainability Challenge Celebrates School Greening

On Sat., May 21, students from 37 schools exhibited the work they've done to make their schools greener places to learn as part of the second annual City Schools Sustainability Challenge. The challenge is an initiative of the Baltimore Office of Sustainability in partnership with City Schools, Constellation Energy, the Baltimore Neighborhood Energy Challenge and the Baltimore Community Foundation—which contributed $1,000 to each participating school to use for supplies and materials.

With names like "Compost Tea Party," "Learn, Love, Life—Let's All Be Green" and "Recycling Carnival," the projects give students knowledge and experience to become green ambassadors—students the city can call on to raise environmental awareness across Baltimore.

The event was both a celebration and a showcase of work started this year. It took place from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Top of the World Observation Center at the World Trade Center in the Inner Harbor. Click here for more information. 

Fifth Grader Wins National Boxing Title

Known as “Truck” at Upton Boxing Center in downtown Baltimore, 5th grader Lorenzo Simpson made it to Kansas City, Missouri, on March 12 for the nation’s largest tournament for young boxers, the National Silver Gloves Tournament of Champions. He returns to Baltimore a national champion in his age group. 

The victory comes less than a week after his friend and gym mate, Ronald T. Gibbs (known as “Rock”), died tragically in a homicide. “I knew I was going to win for Rock,” Lorenzo says.

A student at City Springs Elementary/Middle School, Lorenzo started boxing at age six, two years after his father died. Boxing became an outlet for his pain—and something positive to focus and work on daily. But the benefits extend beyond the boxing ring, his principal, Rhonda Richetta, says: his grades have gone up, his attitude improved and "he's notably different—a model student."

To learn more about Lorenzo and his recent victory, see this story from the Baltimore Sun.

Students Named Carson Scholars

Outstanding academic performance, humanitarian service, a commitment to the community—these achievements led 13 students in City Schools to be named 2011 Carson Scholars. These students are among 500 nationwide to receive a $1,000 college scholarship—and the honor of being named a Carson Scholar. On Sun., April 10, City Schools’ 2011 Carson Scholars will join others from across Maryland—including 26 City Schools' repeat scholars from last year—at a recognition banquet at Martin’s West in Woodlawn, MD. City Schools congratulates these students and encourages them to keep up the good work!

For a list of students awarded this year, click here. And to learn more about the fund, see the Carson Scholars announcement.

Students Meet with White House Council on Women and Girls

When President Obama launched the White House Council on Women and Girls last March, Mischa Toland, who runs the Greatness Now program for girls at W.E.B. DuBois High School, knew she had to get involved. After a year of back-and-forth correspondence, she heads to the White House on February 25 with 12 students from her program. Their mission? To give voice to the experiences of inner-city girls of color.

"When policymakers talk about women's issues, they often leave out young girls of color, particularly those from urban areas who have unique sets of challenges," says Toland. "By 'girls of color,' I'm referring not just to African American girls but also to Hispanic, Asian and Native American."

From 12 to 1:30 p.m., Toland and the 12 girls will share personal stories and ask questions to the council: What kind of education opportunities can better support inner-city girls of color? How can you help girls recovering from rape and molestation? What about girls who aren't independent but have no-one to depend on? 

Toland envisions the visit as the beginning of a long-time partnership in which the students represent inner-city girls of color nationwide. "Our girls are speaking from a national and not just Baltimore perspective, and they're representing a population that too often goes unheard," Toland explains. 

"For me personally," she says, "the trip gives these girls a chance to know that their voice matters—and that this council will take what they say and do something good with it."

Stay tuned for personal accounts of the White House trip from the students.     

Virtual Supermarket Comes to George Washington

On Jan. 31, George Washington Elementary School launched a new program, Baltimarket – the Virtual Supermarket Project, to increase healthy foods options in neighborhoods surrounding the school. The effort comes as part of a partnership between the school and the Baltimore City Health Department, Santoni’s Supermarket and the Y of Central Maryland. Explains Amanda Rice, the principal of George Washington: “My parents do not have a supermarket because the Safeway in Mt. Claire Junction closed down. The parents only have the local corner stores that overcharge them and serve no healthy foods. Parents will be able to purchase foods via the Internet from school, and the next day the food will be delivered to the school by Santoni's Market."

"This will benefit our families and our children in a huge way,” Principal Rice adds. 

Spotlight on Service Learning: Patterson High Students Feed Hungry

Fourteen students from Patterson High School spent the day cooking and serving hot, nutritious meals to more than 1,000 hungry men, women and children in Baltimore. The day of service came as part of the school's participation in Legg Mason's Maryland Mentoring Partnership, a program that pairs students with employees at Legg Mason and provides opportunities for personal growth and development. As one of many service learning opportunities offered by the program, the day of cooking took place at Our Daily Bread and the Franciscan Center, two charity organizations in Baltimore helping people in need.

Says Jennifer Whitman, Chair of the Maryland Mentoring Partnership and Director of Corporate Insurance at Legg Mason: "The students learned a lot from the experience and jumped in to help whenever anyone needed it. Doing something like that for a day—feeding people who struggle to find something to eat—helped students put their own lives in perspective, and be thankful for what they have."

Poly Seniors Make Intel Semifinals

Dan Borgnia and Ilenna Jones, both seniors at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, made it to the eastern United States semifinals of the 2011 Intel Science Talent Search, one of the country's most prestigious high school science competitions. They are among 300 students selected out of more than 1,700 applicants and competing for more than $1.25 million in awards. On Jan. 26, Intel will select 40 of the 300 students to advance to the finals, held in March in Washington, D.C. Finalists will display their work to the public, meet with notable scientists and compete for a grand prize of $100,000. 

Dan's project is titled "Orientation-Dependent Elastic Energy of Diskoidal Colloids in Nematic Fluids," and Ilenna's project is "Gene Expression and DNA Methylation of KCNQ2 and KCNQ3 in Bipolar Disorder."

Students Selected for National Arts Program 

Elzie Williams, Dewayne Gamble and Tariq Al-Sabir—all students at Baltimore School for the Arts—beat out 5,000 students from across the country to become finalists in YoungArts, a program that recognizes America's most talented 17 to 18-year-olds in the visual, literary and performing arts. The program takes place from Jan. 10-15 and includes master classes by world-renowned artists, opportunities to view performances and exhibitions—and a chance at making it to the next level and becoming a Presidential Scholar in the Arts. 

YoungArts, a core program of the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, identifies emerging artists and assists them at critical junctures in their educational and professional development. Its 16,000 alumni include Broadway actors, award-winning playwrights, published authors, well-known visual artists and arts advocates.

Musicians Raise Money for Tuned-In Students

Student musicians from the Peabody Conservatory performed at an annual fundraising event to raise funds to buy instruments for middle and high school students who attend Baltimore City Public Schools (City Schools). The Peabody Preparatory hosts a program called Tuned-In for young musicians who attend City Schools. Students enrolled in the program receive full scholarships to the Peabody Preparatory, which offers a weekly private music lesson, opportunities to work with accompanists and tickets for concerts and cultural events in Baltimore. “We’re happy to do this because we want these kids to have the same opportunities that music has allowed us to enjoy,” says Matt Kitzen-Abelson, a Peabody musician.

Stay tuned for profiles of Tuned-In students. 

-- Jasmin Watson-El

Unique Models Head to Outer Space—and Come Back Victorious

On Dec. 4, fashion troupes from schools across the city gathered for the 4th Annual High School Fashion Battle, sponsored by Will C Productions. The competition gave students a chance to showcase their talent and creativity in the fashion arena—and to compete for the grand prize of $1,000. Each school followed specific criteria in their fashion and performances, including cohesiveness and creativity.

The winner of this year’s fashion battle was Carver Vocational-Technical High School. Carver’s fashion troupe, Unique Models, won second place in a previous fashion show, Fashion Fixation 2. For this current high school battle, the troupe was determined to create the best fashion experience for the judges and audience—and their hard work paid off. The team came up with a “Space Jam” theme and ordered costumes for the female students from online sources. Male members had their fashion creations custom-made, along with the creation of a spaceship to add to the music chosen for the selected space theme.

Kim Stevens served as the teacher advisor of Unique Models and helped students coordinate outfits and performances. “Winning this year makes me especially proud to be advisor to this great group of kids,” Stevens says. “Not only did they win first place in this year’s high school battle, but before the winners of the battle were announced, I was given the High School Advisor of the Year Award, presented by Will C Productions," she adds. "So all around this was a great experience.” 

Congratulations to the Unique Models Troupe on a job well done.

-- Jasmin Watson-El 

Girls Take Home Trophies from Chess Tournament

Teams from four schools in Baltimore City Public Schools (City Schools) posted impressive results in the Mid-Atlantic Girls Chess Championships on Sat., Nov. 20. The event, held at Roland Park Country School in Baltimore, MD, brought together 116 girls from Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Delaware and Connecticut. Cross Country Elementary/Middle School took the first-place team trophy in the Reserve section. Western High School, competing in their first chess tournament ever, captured the second-place team trophy. Baltimore Montesorri Public Charter School and Hamilton Elementary/Middle School also had strong showings, with top 10 finishes in the Novice division. Four players from City Schools (see photo) also won individual trophies for top 10 results: Kayla Johnson (3rd place), Morgan Brown (7th place), Sydnee Campbell 9th place and De'Asya Bonner (10th place). Each of these girls have been part of the Baltimore Kids Chess League for at least five years.

Congratulations to everyone involved!

Steve Alpern

Commissioner, Baltimore Kids Chess League

Poly Student Among 10 Honored in Maryland

Dana Katzenelson, a senior at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, is one of 10 students from across the state honored recently for outstanding achievement by the University of Maryland and the Maryland State Department of Education. Her achievements include: a perfect score on the Math and Critical Reading sections of the Scholastic Achievement Test (SAT); perfect scores on the Advanced Placement (AP) U.S. history, statistics, government, calculus and chemistry tests; one of the highest grade point averages in her graduating class. In addition, Dana serves as an officer of the student government, a participating member of the School Family Council and as the only student member of the Poly Strategic Planning Team. Click here to read more about Dana and the University of Maryland High School Student Spotlight.

Local Fire Department Forms Partnership with George Washington

Whether grilling food for a school event or donating supplies to students, Captain Tosh and his team of fire fighters at Baltimore City Engine 23 never turn down a chance to help George Washington Elementary School. Read letters written by Principal Amanda Rice to city leaders about this vital partnership. 

Harvest Festival Brings Crowds

More than 500 students, families, teachers and principals turned up on Sat., Oct. 23 for the first Harvest Festival at Great Kids Farm. The blue skies and unseasonably warm weather made for a near-perfect day, with families visiting the farm’s goats and chicken, meandering through the its 33 acres and learning about its vegetables and herbs. At lunchtime, families enjoyed a first-class meal, choosing between a burger made with grass-fed beef or salmon from a sustainable fishery. The chefs and servers—students from the culinary arts program at Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical High School—also dished out farm-fresh potatoes and butternut squash soup to the hundreds streaming through the door.

Cross Country Starts Season Strong

On Sat., Oct. 2, the Cross Country Elementary/Middle School chess team started off the new chess season right where they left off the last. In the first Maryland Chess Association scholastic event of the new season, which included 114 players and took place at Windy Hill in Calvert County, Cross Country captured the first-place trophy in the u800 section. Devon Campbell, an 8th grader at Cross Country, finished tied for fourth in the top-rated section, marking the highest finish ever for a Baltimore Kids Chess League (BKCL) player in the rally section. The winner of this section at the end of the season is eligible for a full scholarship to the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. 

Stay tuned for more chess news this season.

-- Steve Alpern, Director of Baltimore Kids Chess League

Southern Management Spruces Up ACCE

Thanks to Southern Management, a local properties management company, the Academy for College and Career Exploration (ACCE) is getting a major spruce up on Sat., Sept. 25. Set from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., the event brings more than 100 employees from Southern Management, who are volunteering their time to powerwash, repaint, recarpet and make other improvements to the school. 

Among other spruce ups planned are the creation of a family and community engagement room, where parents can hold meetings and use computers, and a student support room, where students can focus on social and emotional development. "This is the place where we ensure that each student is educated wholistically," explains Quinhon Goodlowe, principal of ACCE, about the student support room.

Referring to the overall spruce up, Goodlowe adds: "I want our students to be proud of the place they go to learn. This is their second home."

Roland Park Wins National Arts Award

Racking up yet another prestigious arts award, Roland Park Elementary/Middle School is one of five schools nationwide to win the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts National Schools of Distinction in Arts Eduation Award. The recognition goes to schools doing an extraordinary job making the arts an integral part of learning. 

In 2010, Young Audiences, a non-profit that implements arts learning across the country, named Roland Park a School of Vision, and in 2009, it took home the Kennedy Center's School of Excellence Award at the state level. 

According to Janet Webber, the program director of the Arts Education in Maryland Schools Alliance (AEMS), which nominated Roland Park for its most recent award, the school's "arts-rich curriculum has elevated students' personal and learning experiences beyond the ordinary, ... [and it's] powerful environment enables students to know more, to know themselves better and to think more critically, solve problems and imagine."

Join Students as They Help Baltimore Increase its Tree Canopy

Grab a shovel and join Baltimore City Public Schools (City Schools) on Sat., Oct. 23 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. as it plants 400 trees at Gwynns Falls Elementary School. The event falls during two weeks of planting trees at 13 other schools—and it helps the city meet its goal to increase the tree canopy across Baltimore. (Click here to learn more about this citywide initiative, spearheaded by the Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks.)

At present, the tree canopy in Baltimore is 27 percent, while the canopy for City Schools is 13 percent. Working with community partners TreeBaltimore, Parks & People Foundation, Baltimore Water Alliance and Constellation Energy, City Schools will increase its tree canopy to 40 percent, the rate recommended for healthy cities by American Forests, one of the oldest non-profit conservation organizations in the United States.  

At the Saturday event, Andrés Alonso, the CEO of City Schools, and Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, the mayor of Baltimore City, will kick off the event, and then community members will join students and teachers to plant and learn about trees native to the region. City residents can take home a free tree, and anyone interested in volunteering can show up and start planting. For more information, contact Andrea Calderon. 

Gwynns Falls Elementary School is located at 2700 Gwynns Falls Parkway, Baltimore, MD 21216.