Blog

Conversation with Devin Allen & Exhibit Tour

The students had an impactful experience touring the “Heavy with History” exhibit at the Baltimore Museum of Art.  The exhibit features the works captured during the Freddie Gray Uprising by acclaimed Baltimore based photographer Devin Allen.  We were fortunate to have Mr. Devin tour us through his work and learn his perspective on the events leading to and from the death of Freddie Gray. He explained his responsibility to reflect accurately the reaction to the death of Freddie Gray and its impact on the community. He talked about his history and relationship to the neighborhood that enabled him to get the images that he did.

Devin shared his personal story and development of his career as a self-taught photographer to having one his photographs used on the cover of Time magazine. Devin’s work has taken him around the world though he remains deeply rooted in Baltimore, living in the West Baltimore house once owned by his grandmother. He continues works with young people here to develop their interest and skills in photography.

We were deeply honored to have Devin so generously share his time with us and thoroughly answering the students’ many questions. Additional appreciation to Tracey Beale, Director of Public Programs at the BMA, arrange this event, speak with the students and accompany us. Thanks as well to TCS Trustee Fleesie Hubbard for arranging this visit. We also appreciate how the Baltimore Museum of Art has included us in their works.

TCS Student News May 16, 2025

It has been a very busy week at The Community School. We had 4 important Conversations – Mayor Brandon Scott, Hannah Nentakpeh and Jalen Rose of B4YT in Liberia, Michelle White the Assistant Dean, Early College and Access Programs at BCCC, and Lee Blinder and Adrian Hinderlie from Trans Maryland. The main story is about transgendered people in the U.S. military. Other news around the school includes a Spotlight on Mayor Scott, a review of the movie Philadelphia that we watched as part of our health curriculum, a Celebration of students Quinn Guilfoyle and Mohamed Cisse and much more.

This newscast was produced by Jordan Smith and Khori Mitchell with production assistance from Rhys Guilfoyle.

Conversation with Dr. Greg Walsh

We had a fascinating conversation with Dr. Greg Walsh today. He is Director of the University of Baltimore’s Center for Digital Communication, Commerce, and Culture. We first had contact with Dr. Walsh seven years ago when he introduced our students to design concepts at a program at the Reginald Lewis Museum. Co-design is an approach to design that includes the users and those affected in the process. Dr. Walsh promotes the inclusion of people traditionally not included in the design process when products and programs are developed such as lower income and people of color. He shared his philosophy and illustrated it with examples to further our understanding.

The students were keenly interested in his work and the tools he uses. We are exploring with Dr. Walsh the opportunities for working together in the next school year. Thank you for sharing your time and ideas with us, Dr. Walsh.

Conversation with Hannah Nentakpeh

For the last several years, TCS has been building a relationship with a youth group in Liberia called B4YT – Burning Barriers Building Bridges Youth Theatre. Today, we had a video conference “Conversation with…” their Executive Director Hannah Nentakpeh , who is currently studying in India. Also joining the conversation was Jalen Rose, B4YT Director of the African Diaspora who is living in Maryland.

This conversation discussed the successes and limitations of the efforts that both organizations have made to communicate and connect.  This year we changed from trying live internet based conversations to prerecording videos on the same topic and sending them back and forth.  This became necessary because B4YT has to endure internet outages and inconsistency in Liberia.

Everyone shared how meaningful the interactions have been learning about each other’s lives and cultures. We explored options for building the relationship next year. Janiah and Jalen will be meeting in the upcoming weeks to develop our plan.

We appreciate Hannah joining this conversation in the middle of the night from India and look forward to continuing and deepening our ties with B4YT.

Conversation with Michelle White

The Assistant Dean, Early College and Access Programs at Baltimore City Community College returned for a Conversation with the students.  This was a great chance to catch up on our progress this year and the learnings we can take from all that happened.  Much of the conversation was used for an evaluation session of our experiences with the college classes provided by BCCC at our school. Eleventh and twelfth grade students took two courses through BCCC this year – English 101 and 102, earning 6 college credits.

We all expressed our gratitude for Michelle and Baltimore City Community College for enriching our students’ education and opportunities.

Quinn Guilfoyle’s Play Performed at Center Stage

“Baltimore: As It Was, So It Is” is the award winning play by tenth grade student Quinn Guilfoyle. It was performed as part of the Young Playwrights Festival sponsored by Baltimore Center Stage.  The play was chosen among over a hundred entries and then Quinn worked with the creative team at Center Stage to bring it to life. This commitment by Baltimore Center Stage to showcase this work along with 5 other young playwrights is evidence of their determination to develop and promote the  creative talent and expression of young people.

Prior to the performance, a video was shown of Quinn being interviewed by Center Stage Artistic Director Stevie Walker-Webb where Quinn talked about the development of this creative work. It was a great experience to see this meaningful play about life in Baltimore and to witness Quinn’s creative vision coming to life. Congratulations Quinn; we are so proud of you!