05-03-05 – Today, 118 of the nation’s top recent college graduates are teaching in 50 schools in the lowest-income areas of Baltimore as part of Teach For America. These members and 200 Baltimore-area alumni are part of a national Teach For America community, Danielle Peterson, executive director of Baltimore's Teach for America program, told the GBC Education Committee.
Teach For America is a non-profit organization with a national corps of recent college graduates who commit two years to teach in urban and rural public schools. It is currently in its 12th year working with the Baltimore school system. Corps members often become lifelong leaders in the effort to expand opportunity for children, Peterson said. They further impact the Baltimore community beyond the two-year commitment by leading and staffing successful schools and continuing on to take leadership roles at key city nonprofits.
More than percent of corps members stay an additional year in teaching and 66 percent remain in education sectors, Peterson said. Teach For America's priorities are to accelerate student achievement and school reform with target school communities.
For more information about Teach For America, click here.
Baltimore City has requested the implementation of Blueprint for Early Literacy, a package for pre-K through third grade, to improve learning in elementary schools, Barbara Alexander, professional development coordinator for the Children’s Literacy Initiative's, Baltimore office, told the GBC Education Committee on May 3.
Children's Literacy Initiative is a Philadelphia-based non-profit whose mission is to increase children's literacy skills and provide professional development for teachers at pre-k to 3rd grade levels.
Blueprint provides teachers with functional curriculum geared toward children’s interests for early learning.
The package includes specially selected books with attached lesson plans designed to address specific skills and focus on vocabulary, Alexander said. It provides guides on how to address the alphabetic principal and create a better learning environment. Blueprint also helps to make sure teachers are addressing comprehension, fluency, and vocabulary through lesson plans, sample messages, and supplementary books.
For more information about Blueprint, click here.