A Flurry of Activity

We are excited to share a flurry of great news as The Baltimore Story continues to raise awareness of and address systemic racism while also celebrating the achievements of Black residents in Maryland and Baltimore.

Three-Year, $30,000, Grant from the McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation

We are thrilled to announce that The Baltimore Story has received a three-year $30,000 grant from the McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation. This grant is supporting the development of middle-school lesson plans focused on teaching culturally responsive, place-based subject matter in areas like history, medicine and healthcare, race and ethnicity, sports, culture, and lifestyle. We are collaborating with a member of our advisory board, RaShawna Sydnor (a Baltimore teacher and Loyola alum), as she coordinates these efforts with teams of Baltimore teachers. These lesson plans meet Baltimore education standards and are free to all registrants. A unique feature of this project are the instructional videos that will help teachers learn how to use the lessons plans.

Partnership with Loyola University Maryland School of Education and Research Study Project

We are also thrilled to announce that we have partnered with Loyola University Maryland’s School of Education to join their new Center for Equity, Leadership, and Social Justice in Education. Stephanie Flores-Koulish, Loyola graduate faculty in education and Co-Director of The Baltimore Story, is working to align efforts between the new Center and our project. One such effort includes the three-year longitudinal research study investigating the outcomes of using The Baltimore Story as a hub for culturally responsive middle-school curriculum development. To complete this study, Stephanie is collaborating with RaShawna Sydnor and Allen Brizee, Co-Director of The Baltimore Story and Director of Writing Across the Curriculum at Saint Louis University, to interview the teachers developing the middle-school lesson plans.

Partnership with Loyola Faculty Member and Undergraduate Students

Lastly, we are thrilled that Tiffany Curtis, a faculty member in Loyola’s Writing Department, is collaborating with us as her students conduct research to develop content for The Baltimore Story. Students from a wide variety of majors are researching events related to systemic racism from 2019 onward. They are also examining current achievements by Black residents of Baltimore. In addition, Tiffany’s students are research issues related to systemic racism that are challenging Baltimore neighborhoods.

We are excited about all the accomplishments these partnerships will yield in the coming months!