Newsletter Spring 2017.indd - Elev8 Baltimore

SPRING/SUMMER 2017

IN THIS ISSUE

Elev8 UPDATE! BALTIMORE » Elev8 Update » C ombating Food Insecurity at Collington Square

» Coach Mesha McBride » Indoor Swimming & Kayaking » D ancing with Dads » In the Spotlight: Taron McDonald Jr.

» V ision to Learn comes to Collington Square

» S isters Circle Explores Baltimore

ABOUT Elev8 Baltimore, a division of Humanim, Inc., partners with schools to prepare every student for a successful transition to high school. elev8baltimore.org

Friends of Elev8 Baltimore, After 35 years of investing, The Atlantic Philanthropies completed its grantmaking at the end of 2016. We at Elev8 Baltimore took note, because in 2008, beginning in New Mexico, advanced a community school model in a diverse group of high-need, Alexandria Warrick Adams, Director underperforming middle schools. The effort, then called Integrated Services in Schools, now known as Elev8, eventually expanded to Baltimore, Chicago, and Oakland, Calif. and wisely integrated four pillars of support that research linked with student achievement: out-of-school time learning and enrichment, school-based healthcare, family support and community engagement. That effort is what launched Elev8 Baltimore. Although the foundation is no longer officially investing, their original investment is going strong in the four Baltimore schools with which Elev8 Baltimore still partners: Arundel Elementary/Middle School, Collington Square Elementary/Middle School, Cherry Hill Elementary/Middle School and William Pinderhughes Elementary/Middle School. Atlantic fulfilled its mission to spend its money in areas that had high-need yet promised great return. And now, nearly 10 years later, we have an opportunity to build on that mission. Looking ahead, Elev8 Baltimore is evolving as a program. We are: • Developing relationships with new foundation partners • Connecting to larger, citywide youth strategies such as the Baltimore Children and Youth Fund • Identifying new priorities (continued on page 2)

• Working closely with Elev8 Baltimore principals and school leaders to develop better professional development strategies and a strong professional development community • Making better use of the experts that we serve: our youth, families and communities To further the points, Elev8 Baltimore has been helping craft the Children and Youth Fund’s recommendations, is working with T. Rowe Price on principal development and is continuing a partnership with the Harry and Jeannette Weinberg Foundation, in support of Freedom Schools® – (Thank you to all the Guest Readers who have signed up to read to our youth!) It’s exciting times at Elev8 Baltimore and we have Atlantic’s original vision to credit for it. I can’t say thank you enough to the programme executives who led the way here in Baltimore and in the other Elev8 cities. Their labor of love is paying off – and the youth of Baltimore are better for it.

Repurposed food helps combat food insecurity at Collington Square Elementary/Middle School Collington Square Elementary/Middle School is located in a food desert, meaning affordable fresh fruit, vegetables and other healthful foods are hard to come by. As a result, some families don’t get the fruits and vegetables they need to stay healthy and thrive. To combat food insecurities within the community, Elev8 Baltimore has partnered with nonprofit Hungry Harvest to bring the program Produce in a SNAP to Collington Square. Produce in a SNAP is a weekly subsidized market, supported by Hungry Harvest subscribers, that provides access to fresh, affordable produce to people living in food deserts. Because one in four residents in Baltimore City lives in a food desert, Produce in a SNAP works to ensure food access is a right, not a privilege in East Baltimore. Each week at Collington Square, families and community members can purchase bags full of fresh produce – which may easily sell for $20 at a grocery store – for only $7. Each bag contains 8-10 pounds of produce including a variety of fruits, vegetables and leafy greens. There’s a different harvest every week, so participants never walk away with the same combination of produce. 2

Photo Credit: ?

“When you have a car, a few miles isn’t a

big deal. But when you don’t, you take what you can get. And that’s usually overpriced, unhealthy, processed foods from gas stations or take-out restaurants.”

— Stephanie Mack, Community School Coordinator at Collington Square

(continued on page 3)

Elev8 Baltimore / 1701 N. Gay Street / Baltimore, MD 21213 / (410) 381-7171 / [email protected]

“One week there might be mangoes, another week there could be shitake mushrooms or fresh strawberries,” Mack says. “There’s a good variety to pick from, and there’s usually food available that people may not be able to buy at full price.” All the produce available through Produce in a SNAP is repurposed produce – fruits and vegetables that are perfectly good to eat but would normally get thrown away because of being misshaped or off-colored. Produce is delivered from markets that over-ordered produce and local farms that didn’t sell enough due to lack of demand.

Even though school has ended, Produce in a SNAP will continue to run throughout the summer. Mack currently has 15 Collington Square students signed up to help distribute food bags during the summer. In return for their help, the students get community service hours they need for school. “With Hungry Harvest, we’re bridging the gap of food insecurity in the community and helping reduce food waste,” Mack says. “It’s a win-win for Collington families and the community as a whole.”

Spotlight on Learning Coach Mesha McBride Mesha McBride always knew she wanted more for herself, but her post high-school years were a struggle. The Washington D.C. native started college in North Carolina, only to quit, transfer to Morgan State University, and then quit again. On her second try at Morgan, she met a staffer at Elev8 Baltimore, who encouraged the accounting major to try her hand working with young people in East Baltimore. In her first year as a learning coach, McBride’s boyfriend was murdered, and she says, if it weren’t for her Elev8 Baltimore “family,” the depression surrounding that unthinkable event might have caused her to give up entirely on her dream of getting a college education. “It was already hard for me in school because I didn’t have family support,” McBride says. “But when my boyfriend was killed, Elev8 supported me. [One Elev8 Baltimore leader] called me every single day. They got me into therapy at Johns Hopkins. Elev8 Baltimore became like a home away from home, and it made me not quit school. That experience showed me that some people really do care about you and will show it.” Over the next two years, McBride transferred that active caring behavior to her Elev8 Baltimore students.

After her first stint as a learning coach, she came back as a servant leader intern over the summer, and then back again the next year. “Through my experiences at Elev8 Baltimore, I figured out who I was,” she says. “When I did Freedom Schools® in the summer, I said ‘You know what, maybe I’m a teacher!’ So I changed my major to early childhood education. Elev8 Baltimore made me open up and communicate with people in a different way. It gave me leadership abilities and it showed me what direction I wanted to go in life.” (continued on page 4) 3

In December McBride finished her undergraduate program at Morgan, becoming the first person in her family to complete college. She is now getting a master’s degree in educational supervision and policy from Howard University. “A lot of the problems that students experience in school are because of a lack of support,” McBride says. “I know what that’s like. My mom was on drugs and my dad went to jail; I was being raised by my

grandmother. It wasn’t until I got to Elev8 and found support and started interacting with people who went to college that it got easier for me to matriculate through. “I want to make education equitable for people like me,” she continued. “If I can help change the experience for students like me, those students who have ‘situations’ – I know now that I want to help them as much as possible.”

Beating Winter’s Chill with Indoor Swimming and Kayaking Lessons Water sports in the heart of winter seem off-putting to even the most enthusiastic outdoorsman. But at Arundel Elementary/Middle School, the students didn’t let the chilly weather keep them cooped up. Instead, they took swimming and kayaking lessons – indoors. This December, Arundel partnered with the Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks (BCRP) and the Cherry Hill Aquatic Center to provide free swimming and kayaking lessons to 30 fifth- through eighth-grade students. “When we first pitched the lessons to the kids, they had no idea what kayaking was. And some of them didn’t know how to swim. As inner-city kids, it wasn’t something they had been exposed, let alone had access to,” says Kellie Brown, Community School Coordinator at Arundel. Every Thursday and Friday from December to May, participating students walked around the corner to the indoor pool at the Cherry Hills Aquatic Center. There, they met with Molly Gallant, outdoor recreation programmer at BCRP, who developed and taught the five-month course. Knowing the students weren’t experienced in the water, Gallant designed the course to introduce the basics of swimming and kayaking. Students began by practicing treading water and different arm strokes, eventually moving on to the kayaking portion of the course. The students learned about various types of kayaks, how to adjust, launch and maneuver the kayak with basic paddling techniques. “My main goal, other than teaching them to swim and kayak, was to teach the kids how to be safe in the water, and keep them engaged and having fun while learning,” says Gallant. To create a fun experience, the students played tug of war, participated in relay races and practiced making shapes in the pool – anything to keep learning fun and build the students’ confidence in the water. (continued on page 5) 4


Here at Elev8 Baltimore, we know children who are exposed to

diverse activities are better prepared and have more advantages moving forward in life. The relationship with Cherry Hill Aquatic Center and BCRP provides Arundel students with just that - and much more. Not only do the Arundel students learn a fun, new

life-skill, but they are exposed to nature, a healthy lifestyle and, most importantly, their community.

“Walking to the pool every day and learning about the Middle River Park, the kids began to see their neighborhood as a resource. The community became a part of them and they became a part of the community,” says Brown. We hope to adapt the program to work at all four partner schools and design more programs in collaboration with the Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks.

Dancing with Dads Let’s hear it for the Dads! This spring, Collington Square Elementary/Middle School held its first ever Father-Daughter Dance. Dads escorted their little girls to the cafeteria dance ﬂoor, played fun, getting-to-know-you games and the 39 “couples” made portraits of each other using scrap construction paper. Then it was time to eat a delectable dinner and dance the night away. Dads offered a carnation to their daughters and pledged to stay committed in their lives. They promised to protect the family as a whole – and also, especially, their daughters’ hearts. The Center for Urban Families partnered with Elev8 Baltimore and Collington Square to provide information and resources for the fathers while they were there. Here in this photo, Gabrielle Peters, a rising sixth-grader, takes a break from dancing with her father, Robert Peters. 5

In Their Words: Taron McDonald Jr. Taron is an 8th grader at William Pinderhughes Elementary/Middle School

»

“The thing I like best about Elev8 Baltimore is that we get to play basketball until 3:15 every day. We also go on good trips. The learning coaches are fun, nice and encouraging. I have a great relationship with the out-ofschool-time team. Elev8 Baltimore has a lot of activities that I enjoy. Also Elev8 helps me get opportunities to do things I haven’t done before. Elev8 Baltimore lets me go places that I enjoy and they have programs for my age that are fun.”

Sister to Sister: Middle School Girls and their Mentors Explore Baltimore At Elev8 Baltimore, we know that stress can have a negative effect on a student’s academic performance. That’s why, as part of our holistic approach to student’s health, Elev8 Baltimore started Sisters Circle – a mentoring group for middle school girls at Arundel and Collington Square Elementary/Middle School. After meeting with all the community schools, Briana Cragwell, Health and Wellness Coordinating Assistant at Elev8 Baltimore, realized the middle school girls needed a space where they could be heard and have their opinions valued. In October 2016, she launched Sisters Circle. “Before Sisters Circle, these girls didn’t have a safe space to talk about what was happening at school or at home. Now, they have an encouraging environment to ask questions and escape their – sometimes difficult – home lives,” says Cragwell. Students thrive when their social and emotional needs are met. But for many girls at Collington Square and Arundel, they needed a space to come together with their peers. Through these mentoring sessions, (continued on page 8) 6


Clear Vision and Clear Futures: Vision to Learn comes to Collington Square Elementary/Middle School

Clear vision and academic success go hand in hand. It’s simple: If a child struggles to see the board, they will struggle to learn. Clear vision elevates a student’s chances of success. Thanks to Vision To Learn, Collington Square Elementary/Middle School students are headed towards clear, successful futures. Through a partnership with the Baltimore Health Department, Johns Hopkins University and Warby Parker, Vision To Learn provides free eye exams and free glasses – an essential learning tool for children – directly to students in schools via mobile clinics. Starting this past October, Vision To Learn parked its mobile eye clinic in front of Collington Square and began conducting free eye exams to the pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade students. With Vision To Learn, all students receive a basic vision screening. If a student doesn’t pass the initial screening, the student then receives a more extensive exam. For those students who fail their eye exams, Vision To Learn fits the student with a free pair of Warby Parker eyeglasses. Students get to choose between a wide selection of colors, styles and sizes. Vision To Learn also donates an additional pair of glasses in case the first pair is damaged or lost. Vision To Learn will also refer students to local optometrists and opticians if additional care is necessary. “One student actually needed a stronger prescription and Vision To Learn paid for her doctor’s appointment and the new glasses,” says Mack. So far, 252 students at Collington Square have received vision screening, resulting in 101 students in need of glasses. “All the kids were really excited, not just to ﬁnally be able to see the board,

but to have stylish glasses they feel good in. One little girl loves pink, and got to order bright pink glasses. She hasn’t stopped smiling since she put them on.”

— Stephanie Mack, Community School Coordinator at Collington Square

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participating girls can build a sisterhood, learn how to communicate without violence, and even get tips on maintaining a safe social media presence. Cragwell encouraged the girls to feel comfortable sharing whatever struggles were on their minds. “We opened the discussion to anything the girls had questions about or needed to discuss. Sisters Circle is their time,” says Cragwell. Sisters Circle doesn’t stop at mentoring. It also provides free programming for the girls to explore new experiences. Recently, girls from Arundel and Collington Square attended the Baltimore Orioles’ annual Field Trip day and attended the movie premiere of “Everything, Everything,” with more fun events scheduled throughout the summer. Elev8 Baltimore hopes to expand Sisters Circle to all four community schools next school year.

Get in Touch

Come visit us or give us a call! 1701 N. Gay Street Baltimore, MD 21213 [email protected] 410.381.7171
