Govans Elementary School (GES), one of the six Baltimore Curriculum Project (BCP) neighborhood conversion charter schools, recently received a $7,500 grant from the Heart of the Schools program sponsored by the Fund for Educational Excellence.
GES is using the grant to create its Dream, Believe, Achieve program to assist its close-knit school community of 474 students comprising nearly 90 percent African American with a growing population of English-Language Learners (ELL) students. The goals of Dream, Believe, Achieve are to provide the students, families, and educators with resources that are often overlooked yet essential to inspiring a thriving school environment.
For the 2024-2025 school year, Dream, Believe, Achieve will provide each student with complete uniforms and a bookbag of supplies for their grade level. “The ability to have items to start the school year can ensure a year of dreaming, believing, and achieving,” notes Michele Confer, GES Prekindergarten teacher, who wrote the grant application and is overseeing the new program for Govans.
Grant funds will purchase various classroom supplies for teachers and staff that support the Dream, Believe, Achieve theme, which is also the GES theme for the year. This includes purchasing GES shirts for all staff to model the uniform expectation for students. To relieve the back-to-school stress for all GES staff, Dream, Believe, Achieve will fund lunches for the work week before school and a “get-ready” swag back to add to the excitement of the start of a new academic year.
In 2021, Govans moved to its state-of-the-art, new building on the site of the former building as a result of Baltimore City Public Schools’ 21st Century Schools Program. Heart of the School funding includes outdoor items, too, to add to the outdoor play, learning, and community gathering so vital to the GES family:
- Six log benches
- Five custom picnic tables
- One outdoor chalkboard
- One shade sail
We have an amazing school, good families, excellent students, and awesome educators,” notes Ms. Confer. “Govans continues to grow and succeed no matter the obstacles that arrive. Our challenges are showing our staff and students how much they are appreciated for their hard work each school year.
Congratulations, GES, on your grant!
Read more on how Wolfe Street Academy used its recent Heart of the Schools grant.
