With 49% of Baltimore City Public Schools students missing 10% or more school days in the 2023-24 school year, the symposium focused on innovative strategies to reengage families, strengthen community partnerships, and ensure students are in school, ready to learn and thrive. A distinguished panel—including Dr. Josh Michael, Dr. Deborah Brooks, Larry Simmons, and Mark Gaither—led a thought-provoking discussion on solutions to address absenteeism and improve student outcomes. The event provided valuable insights, practical takeaways, and a renewed commitment to tackling this critical issue.

The discussion featured Aria Cannizzaro, an 8th-grade student at Hampstead Hill Academy; Lachond Carter, a social worker at Frederick Elementary; Michael Lucas, assistant principal at Hampstead Hill Academy; and Joshua Civin, chief legal officer for Baltimore City Public Schools. The symposium highlighted the need for collaboration among schools, parents, mental health professionals, and social media companies. Key recommendations included promoting digital literacy, fostering open conversations about mental health, and encouraging responsible social media use.

Read about how Hampstead Hill Academy is using Yondr phone bags to limit student smartphone use during the school day. This innovative approach aims to enhance academic engagement while fostering personal connections and encouraging face-to-face conversations among students.

Panelists included Shantay Jackson, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement; Dr. Lorece V. Edwards, Director of the Center for Sexual Health Advancement and Prevention Education (SHAPE) and Professor of Public Health at Morgan State University; Erricka Bridgeford, mediator, co-founder of Baltimore Ceasefire 365, and Executive Director at Baltimore Community Mediation Center; and Anthony Patterson, longtime educator at City Springs Elementary/Middle School.

Discussions focused on the psychological and academic effects of violence on students, the power of mediation in conflict resolution, and the need for stronger community-school partnerships. Panelists highlighted the urgency of providing mental health support, trauma-informed education, and opportunities for youth empowerment to disrupt cycles of violence and build a safer future for Baltimore’s children.

The discussions emphasized that schools cannot ignore the effects of violence but must take a collaborative, informed approach to address its underlying causes and long-term impact.

The discussion featured Dr. William “Brit” Kirwan (Chancellor Emeritus, University System of Maryland), Karen Webber (Director, Education and Youth Development Program Open Society Institute-Baltimore), and Mark Gaither (Principal, Wolfe Street Academy), with Dr. Sarah Warren (Executive Director, Whole Child Services and Support, Baltimore City Public Schools) serving as the moderator.

The discussion featured

Dr. Elizabeth Birr Moje (Interim Dean, University of Michigan School of Education),

Dr. Rhonda Richetta (Principal, City Springs Elementary/Middle), and

Dr. Sonja Brookins Santelises (CEO, Baltimore City Public Schools),

with Dr. David Steiner (Executive Director, Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy) serving as the moderator.

The discussion featured Dr. Lisa Hansel (Core Knowledge Foundation), Robert Pondiscio (Thomas B. Fordham Institute), and Dr. Marcy Stein (University of Washington Tacoma), with Rachel Mazyck, President of Collegiate Directions, serving as the moderator.

The discussion on whether teacher colleges were preparing new teachers for the classroom included Fordham University Education Professor James Hennessy, Hunter College Dean of Education David Steiner, and National Council on Teacher Quality President Kate Walsh, with Rachel Mazyck, President of Collegiate Directions, serving as the moderator.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Race to the Top Initiative required states to create teacher and principal evaluation systems that assessed effectiveness through multiple rating categories, incorporating student growth data as a key factor. This approach, which linked evaluations to standardized test scores, intensified the national debate on how to measure and reward teacher performance. To address this, the Baltimore Curriculum Project, Loyola University Maryland School of Education, and Urbanite Magazine hosted a discussion on evaluation strategies such as value-added measures, performance pay, and Peer Assisted Review. Panelists Dr. Andy Hargreaves, Doug Prouty, and Dr. Robert W. Simmons III explored these topics, with The Marc Steiner Show host Marc Steiner moderating.

Poverty has a significant negative impact on education, contributing to barriers that hinder academic achievement. Despite this, many educational leaders have overlooked these effects, often citing limitations like “you can’t fix the parents” as excuses for inaction. While poverty alone isn’t an excuse for school failure, ignoring its role in creating learning obstacles is unacceptable.

To address these challenges, initiatives such as community schools, children’s zones, and wraparound services are gaining traction. These approaches emphasize that both effective teaching and comprehensive support services are vital, particularly in high-poverty areas, to improve educational outcomes.

We explored this issue with Peter C. Murrell, Jr., Ph.D. (Professor of Urban Education, Loyola University Maryland School of Education); Jane Quinn (Vice President and Director of the National Center for Community Schools, Children’s Aid Society); and Heather B. Weiss, Ph.D. (Founder and Director of the Harvard Family Research Project). Marc Steiner, host of The Marc Steiner Show on WEAA 88.9 FM, moderated the discussion.

Diane Ravitch is Research Professor of Education at New York University, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and former Assistant Secretary of Education. Her best-selling, new book, The Death and Life of the Great American School System, is a passionate plea to preserve and renew public education and a radical change of heart from one of America’s best-known education experts. Drawing on over forty years of research and experience, Ravitch critiques today’s most popular ideas for restructuring schools including privatization, standardized testing and punitive accountability. She shows conclusively why the business model is not an appropriate way to improve schools. Using examples from major cities like New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Denver and San Diego, Ravitch makes the case that public education today is in peril.

The disucssion featured Daniel Koretz, Professor at Harvard School of Education and author of Measuring Up: What Educational Testing Really Tells Us, and Brian Jacob, Professor of Economics at the University of Michigan. The panel explored perspectives on high-stakes testing under NCLB, addressing issues such as the limits of testing, the true effects of high-stakes tests on learning, and their unintended consequences, including score inflation, narrowing curricula, and impacts on dropout rates. They also examined the appropriate role of testing in school assessments and discussed alternative approaches to student and school evaluation, considering the broader implications of high-stakes testing on the education system.​

Is K-12 mathematics in the U.S. preparing our children for college and the global economy? Why do the “A+ countries” consistently outperform the U.S. on international math assessments? We explored these and other questions with national math education experts Dr. R. James Milgram (Professor of Mathematics at Stanford University), Dr. William H. Schmidt (Distinguished Professor at Michigan State University), and Dr. W. Stephen Wilson (Professor of Mathematics at Johns Hopkins University).