Updates:
- Lou met with Ashley Valis and Brian Sturdivant at UMB to discuss how to have increased anchor engagement in the education committee’s work. Ashley is going to pull together a roundtable of anchor leadership to talk about engaging in the community school planning process work, as well as a dinner for school and anchor leadership.
- Lou has also met with Francis Smythe the Chair of the Board at the B&O to discuss how the B&O could engage with schools in the area
- Elizabeth gave an update on the interns at the three schools: Kendall at Vivien T Thomas is concentrating on parenting students, Seema at Stueart Hill is working with parents and developing a parent group, Justin at Southwest Baltimore Charter School is working on parent engagement
Quincy would like ten minutes talking about what happened last month, ten minutes talking about what happens next month
Lou would like to have five minutes of ‘what ifs’ at the end of the meeting.
Singing to the Lions:
Workshop developed in Zimbabwe
Three day workshop for children in environments effected by violence
Peer supported workshop and club/follow up to learn skills and techniques to manage fear and anxiety, identify who to go to when they experience a number of different problem
Activities are done by metaphor, dancing, art, poetry, song
Age group 11-24 year old
Committee is thinking about a way to adapt for a school in the area
CRS would be interested in training school staff to facilitate the sessions and would evaluate the results
Was tested initially in Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, and Uganda, has been translated into Spanish, Arabic, Hindi, and French
Based on many of the same principles that are done currently in schools and other mindfulness work
Suggestion to start the program younger in SW Baltimore
Number of hours total: 18 hours maximum, in the process of cutting the program, open to adapting the content and time for individual needs
Archdiocese of Baltimore: New Catholic School
There have been a number of Catholic Schools closed or closing on the west side of Baltimore
44 schools in the arch-diocese, 8 in the city
Masterplan for schools in the city and near perimeter (27 schools total)
Found that they needed to close some schools, looked at west Baltimore and decided to reinvest by building a brand new school (MLK between Lexington and Saratoga). First new school in Baltimore City in 57 years. Have raised over 16 million dollars (of 18.5).
Will be called Mother Mary Lange School: two classrooms for every grade, 500+ students,
Have been talking to UMB, the BioPark, the B&O Museum
Going to combine two schools into this school for a total over 400 students
Tuition based, but highly subsidized (many families pay $1000 out of $5500 tuition)
Very interested in collaborating with Baltimore City Public Schools
Will be purchasing the land from Baltimore City (at fair market value)
Lou encourages the archdiocese to build a relationship with the schools, the community, and the public schools in the area
Open to having the school building used by the community during off hours
Quincy: would ask for further direct conversation in the Committee meeting, and would like regular participation—send questions or statements to Elizabeth@swpbal.org
Lou would like some committee members to attend a meeting with the B&O at 2pm at November 15th at the SWP offices—Ivan and Quincy and Cynthia and Hannah. Elizabeth will send a reminder
