We see our City Schools filled with new life under transformative leadership; BCF’s largest education grant of 2008, for Dr. Alonso’s “transformation schools,” is a $50,000 vote of confidence. BCF is an active partner with business, government and other philanthropies in promoting public education in Baltimore, and much of BCF’s recent advocacy has focused on education funding and reform, recognizing the economic realities of our time but insisting that education funding is one investment we cannot afford to cut back.

We can see the fruits of our five-year investment in the Middle Grades Partnership: eighty percent of the MGP eighth graders at Collington Square School in one of Baltimore’s most economically challenged neighborhoods have qualified for Baltimore’s competitive high schools. Their chances for college success and rewarding careers are bright.

BCF’s scholarship program is strong and growing; in 2008 we provided $64,000 in scholarship support to 40 students, including the inaugural One Step Up scholarship award of $10,000 which has enabled Sherrone Ricks, a Western High School graduate, to attend her dream school, Bowdoin College.

During 2008 we made an important change in how we consider grants, focusing each meeting of our Education, Child and Youth Development Committee on each of our priority areas in turn: early childhood, public education, after-school programs, adult literacy and so on. This allows staff, trustees and other committee volunteers to evaluate applications in depth, understand the issues better and make the best grant decisions possible.

Download the 2009 Education Path Report  PDF Download

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Education grants focus on:

• Making sure that children enter school ready to learn;
• Fostering high quality public education, and supporting the creation of new and charter schools;
• Encouraging students, parents, and community members to speak out on issues related to children and youth;
• Ensuring access to appropriate, quality educational options for gifted and talented students as well as those with disabilities;
• Connecting young people with college preparatory activities and workforce entry opportunities;
• Promoting literacy for children and parents through efforts that address the entire family, and furthering adult literacy through GED and other programs;
• Promoting college access and other programs that help students achieve academic success and become contributing members of their communities;
• Funding advocacy efforts and judicial and legislative remedies to improve school readiness programs and public education.

BCF invites all who share our vision for this region to join us and Invest in Baltimore. We believe that no one path leads to our common goal, but that by investing strategically in many paths we can create a Baltimore with a growing economy in which all have the opportunity to thrive. BCFs grantmaking is built around these nine paths, one of which is Education.