News & Events
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January 2012
Safe Streets Evaluation Demonstrates Successful Results
A new study released by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health shows that the Safe Streets Program has successfully decreased gun violence in targeted neighborhoods. Safe Streets is a public health campaign that aims to reduce shootings and homicides in four of Baltimore’s most violent neighborhoods, where homicide is the leading cause of death amongst African-American males (ages 14-25). The study linked Living Classrooms’ Safe Streets Program to a drastic reduction in gun violence in its targeted East Baltimore neighborhoods. Since 2007, the program’s outreach workers have mediated over 230 conflicts, engaged 436 high-risk youth, and organized 111 community outreach events with over 12,000 community members in attendance.
The recent study focused specifically on the program’s effects on attitudes, participants’ experiences, and gun violence. Researchers found that many urban youth in high-crime neighborhoods believe that the “code of the street” dictates a response of lethal violence to perceived threats or disrespect. However, when the youths in the Eastside’s McElderry Park neighborhood were surveyed after the implementation of Safe Streets, they were found much less likely to support gun violence when compared to their peers in other areas. This is particularly significant, as nearly half of the program participants surveyed had already been shot at in their young lives.
The effectiveness of Safe Streets is mainly attributed to the program’s outreach workers. Outreach workers are often former gang members themselves, and strive to develop positive relationships with youths by serving as role models, steering young people towards resources such as education and job training. Specially trained outreach workers, known as violence interrupters, work to identify and resolve potentially dangerous conflicts before they escalate into shootings. This is no small feat; as for every youth gun-related fatality four more youths will suffer nonfatal gunshot wounds.
The study also revealed that the relationships between program outreach workers and participants is more than just one of numbers; it also reflects a changing tide of sentiment and the addition of positive role models in these young people’s lives. Participants credited outreach workers for their assistance with help finding a job, job interviewing skills, job training, getting into school or a GED program, and resolving family conflicts. Outreach workers serve as mentors, and have taken an active involvement in the well-being of the youth served. Two-thirds of participants saw their outreach worker three or more times per week. Outreach workers additionally helped settle an average of two disputes per participant, 28% of which involved guns and 91% avoided violence completely. According to the study, researchers estimate that the program was associated with 5.4 fewer homicide incidents and 34.6 fewer nonfatal shooting incidents during the 112 cumulative months of intervention post observations.
By engaging hundreds of high-risk youth, promoting nonviolence through community events, and mediating disputes with the potential to lead to a shooting, Living Classrooms’ Safe Streets Program is proving to have a positive impact in targeted East Baltimore communities. The program is modeled after Chicago’s Ceasefire Initiative.
Volunteer News
January is National Mentoring Month and we at Living Classrooms need your support. Do you have time in your life to help an individual less fortunate then yourself rise to their greatest potential? Have you ever considered that you can give back by sharing your life experiences and helping someone in need connect to the resources already available to them through your guidance? If you are interested in changing someone's life as well as your own through the power of mentorship, please consider supporting Living Classrooms as a mentor in some of the following ways:
Girls Empowerment Mission (GEM): The GEM Program works with disadvantaged high school girls in an effort to inspire them and lay the foundation for success in their lives. The program, run in partnership with Debbi Weinberg, is designed to address the needs of these at-risk girls within a positive and enriching environment that includes cultural, recreational, social, educational, and professional opportunities.
Project SERVE: While making major improvements to impoverished neighborhoods, Project SERVE is bringing positive change to participants' lives. Many participants come to us from substance abuse centers or have spent time incarcerated. They are using this opportunity to create a future for themselves and their families while receiving on-the-job training and giving back to the community. These hardworking individuals need support from their community as they seek resources on their journey to success.
Education Programs: There are several opportunities to mentor students in our education programs. You can help a Crossroads School student reach new heights as a student leader, or be an employment advocate for participants in our Fresh Start or Career Starters Program.
We greatly appreciate your time and support! Please contact Jessica Drake (jdrake@livingclassrooms.org) to learn more about mentoring opportunities!
December 2011
Grand Opening of City Springs Football Field and POWER House in East Baltimore Target Investment Zone
Living Classrooms recently celebrated the grand opening ceremonies for the new City Springs Football Field and POWER House in East Baltimore. These sites are part of a Target Investment Zone initiative, which is aimed at breaking a cycle of poverty and improving the quality of life for residents of underserved communities in East Baltimore.
On November 29th, Living Classrooms and partners including Mayor Rawlings-Blake, Council President Jack Young, Department of Recreation and Parks, The Baltimore Ravens, NFL/Lisc Foundation, and Coach Joe Ehrmann came together with students for the City Springs Football Field ribbon-cutting ceremony and an afternoon of football activities with Ravens players and cheerleaders.
The newly renovated City Springs' Football Field features a regulation size football field that offers community youth and families a safe place to play football and participate in physical education classes and health and wellness programming run by Living Classrooms Foundation's athletics and education staff. City Springs' field was initiated by an NFL/LISC Grassroots grant of $100,000 to Living Classrooms, that was supported by the Baltimore Ravens and matched with funding from Baltimore City Recreation and Parks of $153,000. This unique public and private partnership in the form of an Adopt-a-Field Agreement has designated Living Classrooms Foundation as the operator of the field by Baltimore City Recreation and Parks. Living Classrooms will provide both the maintenance of this high quality athletic field and programming focusing on health and wellness for the East Baltimore Community. The programming vision for City Springs Field is to utilize athletics as an instrument aimed towards helping boys and girls become men and women of empathy and integrity who will lead, be responsible and positively impact their community.
On December 15th, Living Classrooms celebrated the grand opening of the POWER House, a renovated firehouse in East Baltimore, which will serve as a community center for Perkins Homes, one of the largest public housing developments in Baltimore. The POWER House (POWER = Providing Opportunities to Work, Expand, and Rise) is also Living Classrooms' newest educational facility aimed at expanding programs and services to children and families living in East Baltimore.
The grand opening ceremony was well-attended by community members and partners including keynote speaker Susan Taylor, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of Essence Magazine and Founder of the National Cares Mentoring Movement. The project’s generous supporters include: The Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Commercial Interiors, Charles T. Bauer Foundation, SunTrust Bank, Baltimore Housing, Maryland State 46th District Bond Bill Authorization, RTGX, Greater Baltimore Cares, Clark Construction, France-Merrick Foundation, Empower Baltimore Management Corporation, Baltimore Community Foundation, East Harbor Community Development Corporation, Perkins Tenant Council, Schochor, Federico, & Staton, P.A., and University of Maryland Law School Clinic.
The facility will feature large multipurpose rooms designed for after school programming, community meetings, financial education, youth mentoring, employment training sessions, and health fairs among other community enrichment-focused events. The POWER House also features a state-of-the-art technology center, sponsored by RTGX and Greater Baltimore Cares, with high speed Internet access and computer literacy training for the community. SunTrust Bank will also be providing financial education classes aimed at strengthening individuals and the community-at-large. The center will provide a variety of enriching services and events that will foster an environment that is positive and safe, and that promotes healthy living for all members living in the Perkins community.
Volunteer Spotlight
As the year comes to a close we would like to take a moment to thank all of the 2,261 volunteers that supported Living Classrooms this year! Their efforts provided us with over 25,000 volunteer hours and labor cost savings worth nearly $535,000! Volunteers supported our students in tutoring and academic support roles. Volunteers maintain our grounds, buildings, and ships. Volunteers donated their personal skills to coordinate events, assist in financial literacy and recruit new partnerships for Living Classrooms’ programs. Most importantly though, volunteers helped Baltimore City by giving back to their own community in service! What would we do without you? In the New Year we will need you more then ever as our programs continue to grow.
Please consider joining us in some of the following ways:
- Help serve over 1,200 people in East Baltimore dinner on December 24th from 12-5pm at St. Wenteslaus Church in partnership with Safe Streets
- Is your company, church or school group looking for a service activity on our National Day of Service? Join us at our East Harbor Campus as we remove invasive species and help beautify the last remaining wetland in the harbor.
- Our flagship Lady Maryland is currently dry docked and in need of repairs. All volunteers interested in carpentry and available between 8:30am-4:30pm Monday through Friday are welcome!
- We are in constant need of tutors for our GED programs everyday.
- Have you ever run a workshop on job preparedness? Are you interested in helping someone succeed at their second chance in life? Volunteer with Project Serve and help deserving young adults by serving as a mentor.
- Do you love history? 2012 is the bicentennial of the war of 1812, where Baltimore played an important role. Serve our Heritage Programs by acting as a docent on the USS Constellation or Coast Guard Cutter Taney!
Please contact Jessica Drake, Director of Community Outreach by emailing jdrake@livingclassrooms.org or by phone (410)685-0295 ext. 314 for more information about these and many other wonderful events!
November 2011
Commodore John Rodgers School Shows Success in First Year as Turn-around School
Only Baltimore City Turn-around School to Meet Performance Standards
Baltimore, MD -- In fall 2010, when Living Classrooms Foundation was designated Turn-around Specialist of Commodore John Rodgers Elementary and Middle School, an East Baltimore Title I school with over 98% of students receiving free or reduced-price lunches, Commodore was one of the worst performing schools in Baltimore City. Living Classrooms assumed operations of the failing school based on the model for the Foundation's successful charter school, The Crossroads School. Since then, Commodore John Rodgers has demonstrated exceptional results.
In one year, Commodore John Rodgers School underwent a major facilities renovation, re-staffed the entire school (hiring more than 50 new staff members), and doubled the projected enrollment of 250 to more than 500 students. The school enhanced student learning with the addition of technology school-wide (computers, document cameras, student-response systems), reading materials (over 10,000 books), and fieldwork opportunities that allowed students to learn outside of traditional learning spaces. This collective effort resulted in Commodore John Rodgers School meeting the performance targets put in place by Maryland State Department of Education, Baltimore City Public Schools, and the School Improvement Grant. Commodore was the only one of Baltimore City's seven Turn-around Schools to meet the target. Students made double digit gains as measured by the MSA in both Reading (15% point increase) and Math (10% point increase). Other measures improved dramatically as well, including attendance, school climate, and family engagement.
The school is already making more improvement this school year through raised expectations, increased stability (not a single staff member transferred to another city school), and extended day programming. There are many new initiatives and partnerships that will help leverage increased success at Commodore this school year. Additionally, Commodore John Rodgers families are benefiting from adult education classes (English as a Second Language, Spanish, GED, computer skills) that are taught on-site by Baltimore City Community College instructors. With all of this support in place, Living Classrooms is committed to fulfilling the school's stated mission of "From Commodore to College: 100% for 100%."
It is critically important that children affected by poverty are engaged in learning, stay in school, and receive a strong education that prepares them for college and a brighter future. Living Classrooms’ transformation of Commodore John Rodgers is aimed at meeting that goal and giving disadvantaged young people the tools they need for success.
Waterfront Kitchen Now Open on Living Classrooms' Douglass-Myers Maritime Park Campus
Restaurant Partner shares Living Classrooms' mission to provide hands-on education and job training to at-risk populations.
Located on the first floor of Living Classrooms' Douglass-Myers Maritime Park in Fells Point, the new Waterfront Kitchen is downtown's newest hotspot that offers mission-driven dining. In partnership with Living Classrooms Foundation, Waterfront Kitchen features a spirited American menu designed by local chef Jerry Pellegrino (of Corks in Federal Hill) using seasonal ingredients including those grown by inner-city students in Living Classrooms' Baltimore Urban Gardening with Students (BUGS) After School Program. The restaurant is also hiring disadvantaged young adults who graduate from Living Classrooms' Project SERVE, providing valuable training and work experience in the hospitality industry with opportunities for advancement.
The BUGS After School Program is a national-model program that uses horticulture and academic enrichment to engage at-risk elementary school youth during the critical after school hours, where children are most likely to get into trouble. This winter, the restaurant will help prepare and expand the BUGS' gardens and greenhouse located one block away from the Maritime Park, on the Foundation's East Harbor Campus. Come spring, students will be planting and growing produce and seasonal herbs that will supply the restaurant. The restaurant will make year-round donations to support this partnership. Students will also use the restaurant kitchen as a "living classroom" where they learn about healthy nutrition and participate in hands-on projects, for example, making and bottling pickles they sell in their annual Farmers Market.
Living Classrooms' Project SERVE (Service-Empowerment-Revitalization-Volunteerism-Employment Training) is a job-training program that provides unemployed young adults, many of whom have a history of substance abuse and/or criminal involvement, with on-the-job training and opportunities to revitalize their communities. Seventy-five percent of Project SERVE participants are employed upon completion of the program, and Waterfront Kitchen is the program's newest employment partner. Two Project SERVE members have been hired since the restaurant's opening last week. Restaurant manager Jamie Heffron speaks of the hospitality positions, "This is the way to learn customer relations skills, how to multitask, and so much more. It's a way to move up into restaurant management, but it also provides skills useful in any job."
In addition to the seasonal menu, Waterfront Kitchen offers magnificent, sweeping views of Baltimore's Harbor, and indoor and outdoor seating. The interior was designed by Patrick Sutton Interior Design to complement the 35 feet of glass and panoramic waterviews.
Living Classrooms is thrilled to be working with restaurant owners Chuck Nabit and Michael Klein, and the entire staff of the Waterfront Kitchen. The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner Tuesday-Saturday, and brunch on Sunday. Reservations can be made by visiting www.waterfrontkitchen.com.
Living Classrooms Welcomes New Community Outreach Director
Living Classrooms Foundation is pleased to announce the hiring of our new Director of Community Outreach and Volunteerism, Jessica Drake. The following is a preview of upcoming opportunities available for individual volunteers and groups:
- Become a regular Docent for our Historic Ships. Imagine what fun it could be to help teach others about Baltimore's history in the Civil War and in the development of our nation
- Support our students from 6th grade to adult in after school tutoring and GED education
- Help maintain the last remaining wetlands in the Inner Harbor
- Are you a retired craftsman or someone with a passion for building and/or boats? We need your support helping to restore our flagship, Lady Maryland, this winter.
- Internship opportunities are available in every program
Living Classrooms Foundation depends on and greatly appreciates the support of our volunteers and partners. To get involved, please contact Jessica Drake at jdrake@livingclassrooms.org or (410) 685.0295 x.314.
CLICK HERE TO VISIT 2011 CALENDAR OF EVENTS
