Supporting Educators: The Heart of Baltimore Curriculum Project
Since the Baltimore Curriculum Project (BCP) began in 1996, educator support has been at the heart of our mission. We believe that how well you teach a child equates to how well they learn. I’ve always loved that belief. It’s not about blame, it’s about possibility. It reminds me that teaching is powerful work. That […]
National Principals Month BCP Leader: Matt Hornbeck
To celebrate National Principals’ Month at Baltimore Curriculum Project (BCP), we interviewed one of our six amazing Principals from our network of neighborhood conversion charter schools. Matt Hornbeck, Principal of Hampstead Hill Academy (HHA) in the Canton neighborhood of Baltimore City, is in his 23rd year at the helm of HHA. He began his tenure […]
The Educational Impact of 30 Years of Restorative Practices
This year, as Baltimore Curriculum Project (BCP) celebrates 30 years of serving Baltimore’s children and families, I’m reflecting on the many ways BCP has grown. Some of our most meaningful progress has come not from new programs or policies but from a deep cultural shift in our network of six neighborhood conversion charter schools. One […]
Why the Community School Model Matters: 30 Years Committed to Partnerships
For 30 years, the Baltimore Curriculum Project (BCP) has championed the community school mode, an evidence-based approach that transforms public schools into neighborhood hubs offering academic, health, and family support services. Founded in 1996, BCP has partnered with Baltimore City Public Schools, families, and Baltimore’s low-income communities to ensure students thrive not just in the […]
Celebrating 30 Years of the Baltimore Curriculum Project
Committed to Baltimore. Powered by purpose. Focused on the future. This 2025-26 school year marks a milestone for the Baltimore Curriculum Project (BCP) — our 30th anniversary. As I reflect on all we’ve built together, I keep coming back to this: BCP has never been just about running schools. It’s always been about something bigger—about […]
Nurturing Student Success in Math: BCP’s Math Pilot
What’s on the mind of all educators nationwide? The post-pandemic decline in students’ math ability. Last December, the National Assessment of Educational Progress reported that U.S. students are “failing to meet even the lowest level of achievement in math,” and the gap is widening. Closing this critical gap in mathematical skills, confidence, and success has […]
The Benefit and Impact of Charter Schools
The history of charter schools in Baltimore City is part of a broader narrative about school choice and equitable access to education. In the early 2000s, Baltimore City Public Schools (City Schools) implemented a high school choice program, allowing incoming ninth graders and their families to select the city high school they wished to attend. […]
Empowering Middle School Leaders for Real-time Impact and Long-term Change
Twelve years ago, a group of us at Hampstead Hill Academy, a Baltimore Curriculum Project (BCP) neighborhood conversion public charter school in South Baltimore, launched Leaders Go Places (LGP) with our middle school. The initial idea and early funding for the incentive-based program to encourage and empower 6th through 8th graders to focus on academics, […]
Learning to Lead: Engaging Middle Schoolers in Civic Responsibility
Teaching civic engagement and civic responsibility to middle schoolers is always interesting. This particular presidential election and moment in our country’s polarized political climate makes it especially interesting. Civics instruction is important from a young age because students oftentimes feel powerless at their age. They know that adults are making decisions that impact their […]
BCP’s History with Direct Instruction and NIFDI
When I was a graduate student in Special Education and Rehabilitation at the University of Oregon, the direction of my life changed when I met Jerry Silbert, one of the leaders and program authors of the four-decade Direct Instruction (DI) movement with the National Institute for Direct Instruction (NIFDI). In 1996, BCP, in partnership with […]