Brian White, longtime 7th grade Math Teacher at Hampstead Hill Academy (HHA), received The Baltimore Curriculum Project’s (BCP) Brenda Kahn Memorial Award for Educational Excellence on January 23, 2023. The award was presented following BCP’s annual symposium, Leading Minds: Challenging Conversations in Public Education, held at Morgan State University. The day included a morning of professional development for all BCP teachers, staff, and administrators.
Named for the late Brenda Kahn, BCP/Baltimore City Public Schools educator, the Kahn Award is presented annually to the BCP educator who demonstrates the qualities exemplified by Brenda:
- Academic expertise and excellence
- Integrity
- Perseverance
- Collegiality
- High-quality instructional skills
The six BCP Principals nominate potential awardees, and the recipient receives $1,000 and the school, an emblem to display.
Brian has inspired a love of math in Baltimore City students since joining the HHA faculty in 2008. His classroom may look like a traditional math classroom, but his teaching methods are anything but traditional and are beloved by his students.
To encourage his students, he performs on the kazoo, shows his love of the New York Mets and Jets, fills the day with laughter and joy, and creates a loving, supportive classroom. To ensure that students are not singled out, Brian created an imaginary student, “Kenny.” When students aren’t paying attention or talking over lessons on geometry and integers, he calls out, “Kenny, are you listening?” His students know that’s the sign to focus on the lesson.
Matt Hornbeck, HHA Principal, lauds Brian’s impact in and out of the classroom: “Congratulations to our wonderful colleague, Brian White, on receiving this distinguished honor. There is no finer teacher in Maryland. Mr. White not only teaches every one of his nearly 100 7th graders to mastery with grade-level and exceeding-level math content each year, but also leads a culture of excellence, respect, and great humor in his classroom, and throughout our middle school community. It is inspiring to work with him. Here’s to many more years of student success!”
The lightness and love Brian creates in his classroom are key strategies for how seriously he takes the instruction of math for his middle school students. His classes consistently have the highest NWEA Math scores for both growth and mastery.
Brian is a leader during summer vacation, too. For the past fourteen years, Brian has served as the longest-running director for the Middle Grades Partnership (MGP) summer program, a unique enrichment partnership between City Schools and the region’s private schools. Brian runs the onsite MGP program at HHA, which allows him to show his pride year-round on creating engaging opportunities for students to struggle, grow, and succeed in math.
Ask him what his favorite part of teaching is, and he might joke that it’s printing out math packets. But it’s truly the legacy he is creating at HHA. Without fail, every August, when receiving his roster, Mr. White recounts how he’s taught a specific student’s uncle, cousin, sister, and/or brother. His commitment to his students and to HHA is truly the everlasting magic that makes HHA’s middle school feel like a family.
Congratulations, Brian!
Past Kahn Award Recipients:
2020: Marvelyn Johnson, Instructional Coach, Frederick Elementary
2021: Dorothy Glewwe, Kindergarten Teacher, City Springs Elementary/Middle
2022: Stacey Hicks, Instructional Coach, City Springs Elementary/Middle and Victoria Jennings, Assistant Principal, Govans Elementary
