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Mission: Organizing families, youth, neighborhood residents, community-based and citywide groups around issues that will guarantee that the children of Baltimore City receive the highest quality education. We are committed to creating a powerful constituency for educational excellence and accountability.
A1. Organizational Background
The Baltimore Education Network (BEN) was established in 1997 to provide a forum for families and community to partner with schools in the decision-making which impacts Baltimore City Public School System (BCPSS) students’ teaching and learning.
BEN is committed to educational excellence for all children of Baltimore City, a goal that is fundamental to the quality of life in our City. The organization believes that to achieve such excellence, it is essential that parents, grandparents, and guardians become educated and involved in their school community. Research has shown that “children do better when their families are strong, and families do better when they live in communities that help them to succeed” (Annie E. Casey Foundation).
Understanding the problem and BEN’s Initiative - Parent Organizing Project (POP)
The Need: BaltimoreCity’s Public School System is failing our children. Despite legal, federal, and state mandates, BCPSS students continue to underachieve: In 2005, the high school graduation rate was only 59-61%; in grades 3, 5, and 8 respectively, only 56%, 47%, and 34% of BCPSS students were proficient in reading. Proficiency rates for mathematics respectively were 49%, 44%, and 17%.[1] Baltimore City also suffers from the lack of having an organized citywide parent organization that can support our schools. Parents have a variety of talents and skills and are willing and able to provide volunteer support to schools however, there has been no successful effort to organize these parents.
Project Description: Improving performance of students attending Baltimore City’s Public School System is BEN’s primary goal. BEN believes that to improve student performance, parents, grandparents, guardians, community volunteers, and students must be informed about challenges facing schools, and they must share responsibility for improving students’ performance. To accomplish this worthy goal, BEN proposed to organize parent, guardians, community leaders and students to provide a service of volunteering to schools as well as hold the school system accountable.
Based on the highly regarded research “A New Wave of Evidence, The Impact of School, Family, and Community Connections on Student Achievement (New Wave)” by the National Center for Family and Community Connections with Schools,[2] BEN is focusing its expansion efforts on the development of parental involvement and leadership development. As cited in the New Wave research, “Many studies have shown that children with involved parents were more likely to:
- Earn higher grades and test scores, and enroll in higher-level programs.
- Be promoted, pass their classes, and earn credits.
- Attend school regularly.
- Have better social skills, show improved behavior, and adapt well to school.
- Graduate and go on to post-secondary education.”[3]
Other national research reinforces the role of families and community in improving education. The single best predictor of student success is the degree to which the parent is involved in that child’s education process, regardless of income or educational level of the parent.
BEN has developed a multi-faceted, 3-year plan where success is predicated on:
- An informed, trained, Parent Organization that will be active in the local schools and communities;
- Increased Communication about education challenges and education reform in the BCPSS;
- Community Forums where groups with common goals can review and discuss activities; and
- Strengthening BEN’s professional staff.
Building an informed, trained Parent Organization
The development of a parent organization that can begin working in schools, learning about challenges, and recruiting other parents, is key to the success of BEN’s initiative. At the onset, BEN will recruit 100 parents (grandparents, caretakers), who will meet weekly for eight weeks and will receive training on pertinent topics (developing leadership skills; building self-esteem; improving life skills and goal setting; building positive peer interaction; and parenting as a journey). Training will also include participation in Study/Action circles where individuals will help to identify and assess current challenges to the Baltimore City School System, and suggest solutions. It is BEN’s intent to hold three training classes each year so that by the end of the first year, 300 parents will have received training. Once parents complete the training they will become BEN’s Ambassadors to schools and the community.
Ambassadors will be challenged to continue developing their leadership skills in their local school community by: a) Engaging ten additional parents to join BEN as Contacts; (b) Sharing and distributing information about concerns in the schools; (c) Attending PTA meetings, and (d) Volunteering at the local school level as well as operate within a citywide network that will hold the school system accountable.
Monthly check-in meetings with BEN will allow parents to report on their work in schools and network with other parents about strategies they are utilizing to work with principals and staff. Parent Support Groups, run by trained counselors, will also be available to all parent volunteers.
In addition to developing specific leadership and parenting skills, the training will give parents a renewed sense of confidence. Over time a positive trend can be observed: individuals receiving training will increasingly volunteer at local schools, in BEN activities, and often enroll in advanced training. This increased level of participation fuels these volunteers and strengthens their resolve to engage in other community activities, to seek employment, and to take ownership and control of their future. This is exactly the result BEN is seeking – by training individuals in the community; BEN is simultaneously training future community leaders and volunteers who will take the lead to improve the lives of the children of Baltimore City.
Increasing Communication
Currently there is a gap between the parents, community and the school system regarding communications. The BEN newsletter has acted as a medium to close the gap in communication however, this resource needs to be increased to reach more of our parents and community residence. In addition, BEN’s Ambassadors and Contacts are informed about issues within BCPSS in order to be effective in communicating to other parents. They understand the challenges the school system faces, as well as the challenges faced by parents and children.
BEN’s newsletter, BENews, has been and continues to be, a great resource to thousands of people (6,000 printed monthly) both within and outside of the school system. BEN is committed to making its BENews the authoritative source of news on education in Baltimore. In addition, it will highlight local schools, administrators, teachers, parents and students, as well as articles from these groups.
BEN’s Website, launched this past spring, will serve as another venue for communicating information about what is happening within the BCPSS. Information can be posted quickly and can be accessed easily. (Public libraries have computers available for use, and in Year 2, BEN will launch an Internet Café.)
Community Forums
General Assemblies and Community Collaborative Roundtables will bring individuals together to celebrate achievements, review progress, and discuss continued challenges.
Strengthening & Expanding BEN’s professional staff
Increasing staff size, or “Growing to Scale,” is the first step to implementing this initiative. BEN’s current staffing composition includes the executive director, administrative director, program director, administrative assistant and two part time organizers. BEN is in need of four full time organizers, three part time organizers, a communications director part time, and a development director. In total BEN needs a full complement of twelve staff to achieve its mission.
Anticipated Outcomes – Improving Students’ Performance in Baltimore City Public Schools:
BEN is committed to ensuring that all students in BaltimoreCity have the educational opportunities that will allow them to thrive. BEN believes that to achieve these goals it is essential that parents (grandparents, guardians, community volunteers) be informed and engaged in their schools. First-hand experiences of the families and residents will highlight the strengths and expose the weaknesses of students, and will help to identify the actions that must be taken to improve student performance.
This multi-faceted initiative could be used as a model for other inner city school systems struggling to improve students’ performance. This model will not only improve performance of students by involving families, but it also strengthens the community by training family members and supporting their efforts. This experience will give many of these individuals the confidence to improve in other areas of their own lives, including fostering their own self-worth. In addition, this will provide a network of trained volunteers that can address other inner city issues, such as violence and drugs.
· Influencing the three-reader process for new policies and the passage and implementation of a Family-Community Involvement Policy.
· Training more than 40 workshop facilitators, most of whom continue to be involved in the community.
· Publishing the monthly newsletter that provides the most comprehensive education calendar in the city and is distributed to 6,000 readers every month (see attached copy). It is widely regarded as the best source in town for information on education reform in the Baltimore City Public School System (BCPSS). BEN also maintains a website and conducts workshops and forums on emerging education reform issues.
BEN’s Board/Staff: A 20-member volunteer Board that directs the organization’s mission, goals and activities leads BEN. Comprised of a diverse group of individualsrepresenting Maryland’s education community, PTAs, and other interested parties, the Board is committed to supporting BEN financially as well as by donating their time and talents.
BEN’s executive director, Elijah Etheridge - joined BEN in July 2005. He comes to the organization with over 20 years of experience directing social services, building coalitions with a shared sense of purpose, and training individuals for leadership positions in their communities. Barbara Wilson - Director of Administrative Services, has been with BEN since the beginning.
Links with other organizations and BEN’s relationship with stakeholders, community residents. BEN continues its collaboration with BCPSS High School Steering Committee’s Community Engagement Advisory Board, Family and Community Engagement Office, the Parent and Community Advisory Board, the Baltimore City Council of PTA’s, NAACP education committee, ACLU of Maryland, the Greater Baltimore Urban League, the Special Education Citizens Advisory Committee, the Baltimore Education Roundtable, and several neighborhood umbrella organizations.
[1] (BCPSS Student Performance on the MarylandSchool Assessment Program, October 14, 2003, A Report Prepared for the
Board of School Commissioners.)
[2] A New Wave of Evidence, The Impact of School, Family, and Community Connections on Student Achievement (New Wave)”
by the National Center for Family and Community Connections with Schools, Annual Synthesis 2002, Anne T. Henderson
and Karen L. Mapp.
[3]Ibid, A New Wave of Evidence
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