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Educational Initiative
The East Baltimore Educational Initiative seeks to create an integrated educational ladder that will ensure the success of East Baltimore children from birth through high school and beyond. Our key objectives include the development of:
- Exemplary, free child care programs and family supports to prepare students for success in elementary school and lay the foundation for an urban education approach that builds on excellence rather than seeking to remediate;
- A state-of-the-art community campus anchored by a new preK-8th grade school created by an unprecedented public-private partnership. The school will set a new standard for innovation, applying the most effective practices in teaching and educational leadership, reflecting the priorities and values of parents and community leaders, and forging a new model of public-private governance. The campus will become a focal point of the revitalized community, providing not only education but also health and social services, recreational opportunities, and cultural enrichment programs for East Baltimore residents of all ages;
- A partnership with elementary and middle schools in the East Baltimore community to share best practices, expand availability of integrated services, and strengthen the quality of educational options available to the children of East Baltimore; and,
- A partnership with Paul Laurence Dunbar Senior High School offering various math and science-related opportunities for high school students throughout the city and connecting Dunbar students to the new Life Science and Technology Park.
APPROACH
Access to high quality child care and schools will provide a community infrastructure and a market demand for strong schools and access to supports and resources that are critical for academic success. Providing high quality child care and public education to children is a challenge facing many communities across the country. The combination of economic, social, and housing revitalization at the core of the East Baltimore Revitalization Project will provide a community infrastructure that is critical to the success of meaningful urban education reform. The unique approach we propose—integrating a comprehensive educational initiative into the revitalization project—has great potential to transform the future of East Baltimore residents, improve the quality of education throughout Baltimore City’s public schools, and provide a new national model for urban education reform.
- The East Baltimore Educational Initiative began by forming an advisory committee that includes residents, faith leaders, local elected officials, representatives from local foundations, and educational leaders.
- Working groups were formed in key areas that included community members and local experts.
- The initiative supports EBDI’s commitment to engage the community at every stage of the project by encouraging residents to participate in planning meetings and share their needs and ideas for childcare, education, and health and support services in the community.
- The initiative has obtained funding from Atlantic Philanthropies, the Goldseker Foundation, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and developer Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse, Inc. to fund and support planning activities. The Initiative continues to identify and engage additional local and national funding partners.
2006-07 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
To date, we have accomplished the following:
- Worked to strengthen existing East Baltimore child care resources, including providing continuing education and other programs for in-home, informal providers;
- Hosted community meetings to select school site resulting in a seven-acre site which includes ample space for the early childhood program, pre-K through 8th grade school, recreational, cultural and after-school activities, green space, and more;
- Established Dunbar High School Working Group to begin shaping the direction of the partnership among Dunbar, EBDI, and the Life Science and Technology Park;
- Secured planning grant from the Atlantic Philanthropies to support planning for the preK-8 school including the hosting of events, facilitation of working groups, and the coordination of site visits that include the participation of residents and the broader community. Resident and community input will influence decisions about the school design, menu of integrated services, and curriculum program. Residents and the broader community will continue to be involved in shaping the vision and design for the new East Baltimore school; and
- Partnered with Foundations, Inc. to launch community meetings to inform school design, manage planning process, and draft charter school application which was submitted in September, 2007.
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