This past summer, City Springs Elementary / Middle School partnered with Maryvale Preparatory School for the first time, as part of the nonprofit Middle Grades Partnership (MGP) program. MGP matches Baltimore City public schools with the region’s independent private schools to create enrichment activities for students, created and led collaboratively by each school’s faculty and staff, and to promote and create community. The year-round program intentionally targets middle school, an age when students need deeper connections with their peers and academic pursuits.
Baltimore Curriculum Project (BCP) has enjoyed a partnership with MGP for several years. Hampstead Hill Academy (HHA) has a longstanding MGP partnership with Friends School. City Springs has partnered with Boys’ Latin School of Maryland in past years. Its new MGP partnership with Maryvale offers exciting opportunities for academic and personal enrichment and growth for Maryvale’s students
City Springs Middle School Science Teacher, Mr. Saam Momayez directed the City Springs/Maryvale program this past summer. City Springs teachers Mr. Oroke, Mr. Patterson, and Mr. Pullen helped staff the summer program. About 25 City Springs boys and girls traveled by bus for six weeks this past summer to Maryvale in North Baltimore. Ten Maryvale middle school students participated with several Maryvale teachers, who worked collaboratively with the City Springs educators to create a curriculum. Carol Gonzalez, Maryvale’s Science department chair, was site director for Maryvale.
This full-day program included academic and co-curricular enrichment summer with a focus on environmental science and creative expression. Students enjoyed stream study of Maryvale’s pond, examined and labeled plants, and other hands-on lessons about climate and the impact students have on their environment. They also tapped into their creativity by creating original children’s books.
The beauty of MGP is that it really focuses on building relationships between the students. It’s not that one group or another is necessarily mentoring or serving as a role model or even a tutor. It’s students working side-by-side from the two school communities and the teachers from both school communities, also working side-by-side to plan the program.
Ms. DeLancey says students also loved working with Mr. Oroke, who was Baltimore City and Maryland Teacher of the Year in 2020 and received the “Superhero Award” on the Ellen DeGeneres Show. “He is a real connector of people and someone who is really talented at bringing communities together to work with our girls and our friends at City Springs,” she adds.
The two schools are looking forward to collaborating on programs during the school year to keep the connections and learning flowing.
