As the 2023-24 school year moves into the sprint of end-of-year activities, the Baltimore Curriculum Project (BCP) Board of Directors is focused on several strategic goals and new initiatives. At the heart of each objective is BCP’s mission to develop, implement, and advocate for an equitable, sustainable, and replicable education model that improves student outcomes.
At the March BCP Board Meeting, held at City Springs Elementary / Middle School, the Board focused on several exciting projects.
School Achievement Spotlight: City Springs Elementary/Middle Schools
At each Board meeting, a BCP principal is selected to share news of his/her school. In March, Dr. Rhonda Richetta, Principal of City Springs Elementary/Middle, showcased her school’s achievements and academic highlights.
On March 13, 2024, City Springs hosted all the Student Wholeness Specialists for BCP’s partner, Baltimore City Public Schools. The specialists toured the school and talked with Dr. Richetta and City Springs faculty and administrators about City Spring’s pioneering Restorative Practices program. City Springs was the first school in Maryland and Baltimore to implement Restorative Practices and is model for the program.
SY 25 Budget Season is in full swing
Schools held their annual budget collaborative meetings with City Schools’ central office departments on March 1st to submit their budgets for SY25. This is a process City Schools has been doing for some time where all departments who have either COMAR or Board policy requirements to monitor, meet with principals to review the budget plans for the upcoming academic year. If principals have satisfied all requirements, they are cleared to submit their budgets. The meetings also serve as opportunities for principals to discuss their plans and receive support and/or advice from central office staff. All schools were able to submit their budgets by the end of their scheduled meeting on Friday, which means they had well planned and allocated budgets. Some schools had to make slight adjustments to meet requirements, but the changes were minimal and able to be resolved during the collaborative meeting.
Next year’s budgets are impacted by the end of the ESSER grant which has been in place since SY21. This grant provided additional funding to schools to support interventions and wraparound services to combat learning loss as a result of the pandemic and virtual learning. Schools used these funds, primarily, to purchase additional instructional or support positions within the school. Without these funds going into next year, schools had to plan around using their enrollment funding to maintain as much of their programming as possible. In some cases, it was not possible and a few of the schools will be losing key positions and/or programs. Each principal, however, has a plan for continuing progress, and BCP will support them in any way that we can.
Mid-Year MAP Growth and Achievement data
In an analysis of school data comparing both growth and achievement mid-year data from SY 23 and SY 24, all BCP schools have seen an increase in both from last year to this year. This bodes well as schools start preparing for MCAP testing in the next month or two. The data also confirmed the importance of student retention and attendance as schools with the lowest mobility and/or highest attendance have the highest achievement.
Hampstead Hill Academy Renovation Begins
The Hampstead Hill Academy (HHA) renovation project, now fully permitted, begins on March 18, 2024. The renovation includes a new, one-story addition for classroom space and a new gymnasium, with elements that can evolve into an expansion for additional classrooms in the future. Completion of the project is slated for Spring of 2025. BCP plans a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday, April 18, 10:30 a.m. at HHA.
