Bernarda Kwaw, BCP Leader of Distinction
Student Mental Health and Social Media
“Every day, we see how social media is changing schools in the ways that we engage with students.” This opening comment by Harold S. Henry, Jr. Chief of Schools for Baltimore Curriculum Project’s (BCP) 2024 Leading Minds Conversation was hardly news to the several hundred BCP educators gathered on January 26, 2024 in the Pimlico […]
The Value of the Baltimore Curriculum Project Model for Families & Neighborhoods
Student Mental Health and Social Media
The facts grow more alarming with each passing year. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services data shows that children and teens who spend more than three hours a day on social media are two times at risk of mental health issues like depression and anxiety. The reality, based on a recent survey, is […]
BCP Leaders on the National Stage
This fall, several Baltimore Curriculum Project (BCP) leaders attended national conferences of top educators across the country or led programs for emerging educational leaders. We asked them to summarize a few takeaways from their experiences. Harold S. Henry, Jr., Chief of SchoolsAttended The Council of the Great City Schools annual fall conference in San Diego, […]
Reflections of a BCP Principal
I never wanted to be a principal. This is a common refrain from many school leaders, but it could not be more true for me. I resisted at every opportunity leading up to accepting the role at Frederick Elementary School (FES) in 2017, when FES became a Baltimore Curriculum Project (BCP) neighborhood conversion charter school. […]
How Restorative Practices Changes School Communities
Why School Attendance Matters
We know we can teach every child. However, we cannot teach a child who does not come to school. Yet, nationally and in Maryland, student attendance continues to be a challenge for schools, “a hidden educational crisis,” so dubbed by the U.S. Department of Education. At the Baltimore Curriculum Project (BCP), school attendance is one […]
The Science of Reading & The “Reading Wars”
There’s been a battle for years over how children learn to read and the best way to teach them to read. These “reading wars” have heated up again since the pandemic and the post-pandemic learning loss facing our nation. While Maryland students have made impressive strides in English proficiency, as evidenced by the 2023 Maryland […]
Addressing Summer Slide
Use it or lose it. As adults, we understand that if we don’t practice our skills, we can soon forget the knowledge we’ve worked so hard for. Educators face this each year with “summer slide” or “summer slump,” which are the common terms for the student learning loss that occurs during the summer each year. […]