Baltimore First Community Partnership Grows CSI Program
Johns Hopkins University Center for Social Concern staff met with TCS today to discuss growing the future of our CSI science program. In attendance were Nairuti Shastry, Community Partnership Specialist at the CSC, and Baltimore First Director of Community Partnerships Bentley Addison, a Johns Hopkins student.
Baltimore First is a student-led group founded in 2017 within the Center for Social Concern. “Committed to equipping students with the skills needed to affect transformative social change, Baltimore First serves as a catalyst for students looking to expand their philosophy of service and understanding of Baltimore City” (CSC website). Their mission is to facilitate meaningful relationships between their volunteers and the programs they support.
As most of our community members know, The Community School has worked with the Center for Social Concern for over a decade on our CSI-Community School Initiative program. CSI enables Johns Hopkins undergraduate students to create science lab lesson plans and lead labs here at TCS. One goal of the project is long-term sustainability; the program has been building an inventory of both lesson plans and equipment that TCS can access if CSI ever dissolves.
In the meeting today, TCS discussed with Baltimore First leaders Nairuti and Bentley ways TCS and Baltimore First can work closely together for the best experience possible for us and our CSI student volunteers. We are excited by this growing partnership with Baltimore First that will allow us to expand the capacity of the CSI program.