BCP April 2019 Newsletter
In this issue:

  • Rembering Zig Engelmann
  • They Tied! Baltimore Celebs are not Smarter than a BCP 5th Grader
  • Govans Elementary STEM Scholars Attend Pi Day Event in Annapolis
  • Leaders Go Places at Hampstead Hill Academy
  • Wolfe Street Academy Takes Second Place in Hopkins Science Fair
  • City Springs Partners Enrich Student Learning with Poetry, Mentoring, and More ...
  • Frederick Elementary Students Succeed with STEM
Remembering Zig Engelmann
This past February, Siegfried 'Zig' Engelmann died peacefully of heart failure at the age of 87 at his home in Eugene, Oregon. Zig was the author of the Direct Instruction programs, which are the core curricula at all of the BCP schools. We owe him a huge debt of gratitude for the programs he gave us which continue to equip our teachers with what they need to get all of our students to grow and thrive. Retired teacher and BCP coach, Anayezuka Ahidiana, expresses Zig's impact in the following piece.


Zig’s Web
 
Those we touch and those who touched us – that’s the real web of life. Zig’s web is huge – likely touches around the world.
 
In 1969, I had been teaching for four years. I’d tried every reading series in the basement bookroom – carried them up the steps to my third floor classroom where I worked with 36 students. I genuinely believed every kid could learn – and if I could just find the magic key, then . . .
 
In May, I got a call from a former college roommate. ‘There’s this guy at my school who talks like you do. He says all kids can learn. But he’s got a program. You should come hear him.’ The next day, Thursday, I went after school. The auditorium was filled with teachers not so quietly chatting and moving about, as old friends, who hadn’t seen each other recently, visited. On the stage was a big guy sitting with little people sitting in front of him. I went all the way up to the front so I could hear. The kids appeared to be about 4 years old – likely in an early admissions class. It was clear the guy had to teach – and the kids were learning. He got them to sit big and count to 10, correctly identify when something was ‘on’ or ‘under’ and make a statement using the word ‘is’ (which took some work) in about 20 minutes. I was impressed and wanted to know more. 
 
The early admissions teacher said, ‘This guy came into my room and asked for the lowest kids. I was sure he really wanted the highest, but he insisted on the lowest. I had never seen any of them sit in a chair for more than a minute at a time. Never heard the word is used in a sentence. Those were kids that I’d expect to be sent to trainable school.’ Yet, those kids were the ones I saw on stage, with a man they did not know, sitting big in front of a noisy group, learning new skills. The ‘guy’ was Zig Engelmann and he’d be there the next day.
 
That night, I called my friend, Karen Davis, and Friday morning, we both called in sick. We followed Zig all day as he went into classrooms, observed teachers, demonstrated with kids, and discussed the what, why and how. I felt I’d learned more in that day than I had in college and my four years of trying to teach. Both Karen and Gary and I went to listen to Zig speak about his program Saturday. Gary was also impressed. At the end of the year, they moved to study with Zig. I transferred to a new school.

I had the class of 6 year olds who had no previous school experience. Initially, I used the program the new principal had selected, but it wasn’t hitting the mark. I decided to try Zig’s reading program, arranged to ‘borrow’ some materials from a school using, what was then called, DISTAR, and began. Since some schools in Baltimore and DC were using Zig’s programs, consultants were periodically in the area. I’d get a call from Karen, take a sick day, and get some training. By the end of the year, ALL my students could read! 
 
Finally, every kid I taught learned. Once it was said I ‘could teach a door knob to read.’ The truth was, I had an effective instructional tool that I was trained to use. And reading was just the beginning – more and more programs were written.
 
Now look at the length and width of that web. From Zig – thru me – thru hundreds of kids I taught – thru hundreds of teachers I trained – thru hundreds of kids they taught. But that’s not all. I’m just one. Zig touched thousands who touched thousands who touched . . . Each of us has a Zig story. He connects us all. ALL kids CAN learn. THANK YOU ZIG!! Now please – those who understand the power of being in Zig’s web – please press on and pass this knowledge.   It must not end when any one of us walks out the door.
They Tied!
Baltimore Celebs are not Smarter than a BCP 5th Grader
Both teams competed valiantly, but in the end the Baltimore celebrities proved that they were as smart as, but not smarter than, a BCP 5th Grader.

The Baltimore Curriculum Project's eighth annual fundraiser, Are You Smarter than a BCP 5th Grader?, took place on April 10, 2019 at the American Visionary Art Museum. The event gives BCP students an opportunity to match wits with prominent members of the community.

The adult team included City Councilman John Bullock, AVAM Founder Rebecca Hoffberger, WYPR Host Sheilah Kast, Walters Art Museum CEO Julia Marciari-Alexander, and Port Covington Impact Senior VP Alicia Wilson.

The student team included 5th graders from BCP's five neighborhood charter schools: City Springs Elementary/Middle, Frederick Elementary, Govans Elementary, Hampstead Hill Academy and Wolfe Street Academy.

Questions covered a wide range of topics including the arts, math, history, geography, literature and biology. During their first turn up at bat, the adults were stumped by a math question, giving the students a one-point lead.

The teams were neck and neck throughout the competition. MC Bob Heck and the contestants kept the audience laughing the whole time.

When faced with a question about dinosaurs, Julia Marciari-Alexander requested an art history question.

Heck replied: “If you’re doing a painting about dinosaurs with horns and armor …”

In the end, both teams tied with correct answers to the question: “What is a metate?”


View the event video at:

View photos from the event at:


Thank you

BCP would like to thank Councilman John Bullock, Rebecca Hoffberger, Sheilah Kast, Julia Marciari-Alexander, Alicia Wilson and all of the students for competing in Are You Smarter than a BCP 5th Grader? and Robert Heck for serving as MC.

Thank you to our sponsors: McGraw-Hill (lead sponsor), Venable LLP (lead sponsor), AKJ Education, Amerigroup, CareFirst, Congressional Bank, Chesapeake Employers Insurance, The Children's Bookstore, CohnReznick, Constellation, Coppermine Fieldhouse, Executive Insurance Benefits, EY, Friendship Creative Printers, Gerry's Tire and Automotive Service, Heaven 600 WCAO, Jmore, Legg Mason, MD Mojo Photo & Video Booths, MECU of Baltimore, M&T Bank, Pinehurst Wine Shoppe, Port Covington, Rudolph Supply, SwagDog, T. Rowe Price, Tricerat, UNION Craft Brewing, and WYPR 88.1FM.

Thank you to the BCP Board members who served on the event planning team: Bailey Fine, Anne Perkins, and Nora Shettel. Thank you to our volunteers: Murphy Baker, Charmaine Turner, Artavia Jackson, Marvelyn Johnson, Sandi McFadden, Sabrina Wiggins, Scott Wolgamuth, and our friends from AARP Experience Corps Maryland: Donninta Hill, Theresa Jones, Dorothy Lievers, and Valorie Lightner. 
Govans Elementary STEM Scholars Attend Pi Day Event in Annapolis
By Aniyah Brice, Student, Govans Elementary
The Maryland STEM Festival's Pi Day event was held on March 14, 2019 at the Annapolis State House.

Students from dozens of local schools attended the event and we learned from our Ambassadors about STEM. In Annapolis we showed off Arduino [an open-source electronics platform based on easy-to-use hardware and software] and Lego Milo.

We talked to a lot of senators and student programmers from all around the state of Maryland. We had the opportunity to watch other programmers show off their work and we also did projects with them. The most interesting part of the showcase, to me, was meeting the senators.

About the Maryland STEM Festival

The mission of the Maryland STEM Festival is to encourage all students regardless of background and experience to take a greater interest in STEM with the hope they will pursue a STEM related/focused career. http://marylandstemfestival.org/

About the Govans Dragons After Dismissal Program

The Dragons After Dismissal After School program is part of BCP's 21st Century Community Learning Center at Govans Elementary. The STEM-based after school program works with LET'S GO Boys and Girls and a variety of enrichment partners. The 21st Century Community Learning Center is made possible by a generous grant from the Maryland State Department of Education.
Leaders Go Places at Hampstead Hill Academy
Reprinted from HHA's April 2019 Parent News Magazine
Leaders Go Places (LGP) is a program designed to motivate students to achieve rigorous standards. In order to reach level and earn the rewards of the program, students must meet certain criteria in the classroom, the community and with their behavior. Specifically, students must have a 3.0 GPA, an 80% positive average on Class Dojo and complete at least two hours of community service.

LGP is now led by a group of ambitious and committed students. The LGP Student Committee is made up of ten students in grades 7 and 8. The Committee meets weekly to discuss LGP topics. These students plan the field trips by gathering information from their peers, researching prices for tickets and buses. Students are learning to make collaborative decisions, work for their peers, and manage a substantial budget.

Recently, the LGP Committee was invited to Annapolis with Strong Schools Maryland. Students were given a tour of the state capitol building and introduced in session by Senator Bill Ferguson.

Because they wanted to make a difference, they passed out informational flyers about funding for public schools to each delegate and senator who walked into session that day. They also visited the offices of several senators and delegates to talk about the need for more funding for public schools.

Finally, students met with Senator Ferguson’s Chief of Staff to give suggestions for how schools could use the money that is being proposed in the budget. The trip was informative and educational for our students.

Students at HHA are learning to make a difference. Students on the LGP Committee are leading the way as they learn to use their political voice to help students here at HHA and all over the city. We should all be proud of the way they represented our school, our community and our city. 
Wolfe Street Academy Takes Second Place in Hopkins Science Fair
BCP would like to congratulate the Wolfe Street Academy Robotics Team on winning second place in the 2019 Johns Hopkins Medicine East Baltimore Community Affairs Community Science Fair!

The students' project, "Water Filtration and Sterilization in Space", explored the problem of how to filter water in zero gravity.

Tayoni Scott, Senior Technical Writer at Textron Systems, volunteered as the team's coach.

Each year, area elementary schools are invited to Johns Hopkins to participate in the Community Science Fair.

Each school is allowed to submit three projects for judging by Johns Hopkins faculty and staff, Baltimore City Public Schools administrative staff, and a special guest judge. First, second and third place prizes are awarded based on projects that exemplify ingenuity, clarity and presentation using the scientific method criteria.

The Community Science Fair is part of East Baltimore Community Affairs' Community Science Education Program, which promotes science education among students that attend Baltimore City Public Schools within the local community.

City Springs Partners Enrich Student Learning with Poetry, Mentoring, and More ...
Read more news in the City Springs Newsroom .
Sisters Circle Mentoring Program

We are so grateful to be in the second year of our partnership with Sisters Circle. Ten of our sixth grade girls were matched with their mentors. We're excited to see them grow together! Sisters Circle's comprehensive program model combines long-term mentoring with exceptional programming and resources.
Nehemiah House Ministries Book Club

Nehemiah House Ministries hosted a book club discussing Michelle Obama's book, Becoming. The club concluded with a celebration on April 14, 2019. It was a wonderful experience for all of the students and staff who participated.
Visit to Great Kids Farm

City Springs elementary students had a blast during their recent field trip to Great Kids Farm. We met some friendly farm animals, learned about healthy eating, planted seeds, and made pollinator houses out of bamboo for bees and other helpful insects.
DewMore Poetry Club

This year DewMore Baltimore partnered with City Springs to host a weekly after school poetry club for middle school students called the Summer Knights.

Two City Springs students performed two amazing pieces at the DewMore Youth Poetry Festival on April 6, 2019, where they competed against poets from around the City.

One student finished in 4th place and another was crowned middle school champion! Her piece, A Mirror, received the highest score in the competition, and she was featured as a guest artist during the high school finals.
Know Your Rights Camp

On March 23, 2019, a group of City Springs upper school scholars attended the “ Know Your Rights Camp”, a campaign founded by former NFL player Colin Kaepernick.

This camp aims to raise awareness on higher education, self- empowerment, and instruction to properly interact with law enforcement in various scenarios.

Read the full story at the City Springs Newsroom: http://citysprings.school/…/meac-centenni…/i-know-my-rights/
Gettysburg Field Trip

Mr. Patterson took 40 City Spring middle school students to visit the Gettysburg National Military Park on April 5, 2019.

Students had the opportunity to view the Battle of Gettysburg Cyclorama painting, which measures 377 feet in circumference and 42 feet high. They also watched a film about the battle and toured battlefield.

Thank you to the Mt. Moriah Charitable Foundation and Elite PT-Baltimore for their generous donations, which made this wonderful experience possible!
Frederick Elementary Students Succeed with STEM
Family STEM Night

FES scholars and families had a blast at Family STEM Night. The night was full of interactive activities, fun experiments, and interesting exhibits. Thank you to Mr. Bond's Science Guys and the Maryland Science Center for helping lead this wonderful night of STEM.

Mr. Bond's Science Guys started in 1999 to bring hands-on, interactive, and engaging science education into schools all over Tennessee. Science Guys of Baltimore was created in 2017 and offers events year round, including Summer Camps, Birthday Parties, After-School Clubs, In-School Workshops and Assemblies, and special event Shows.

The Maryland Science Center’s Traveling Science Program provides exciting, hands-on science activities. From large scale assemblies to hands-on lab classes to portable planetariums; their programs educate as well as stimulate interest and enthusiasm for science.
STEMcx Workshop and Expo

Frederick Elementary 5th graders
attended the 2019 STEMcx Workshop and Expo at New Psalmist Retreat and Meeting Center on March 16, 2019.

Students had the opportunity to choose from seventeen unique workshops including: Operating Room 101, Climate Summit, and Saved by Artificial Intelligence.

The Transforming Lives Community Development Corporation created STEMcx 2019 to stimulate an interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics for Baltimore's youth and encourage students to view the STEM disciplines in a new and exciting way.

Frederick Elementary partner Kaiser Permanente was the lead sponsor for STEMcx. We would like to thank Kaiser Permanente for making it possible for our Scholars to attend this event.
Baltimore Curriculum Project | 410.675.7000 | bcpinfo@baltimorecp.org | www.baltimorecp.org