Blog

Conversation with the Baltimore Beat

Teri Henderson, Lisa Snowden and Sanya Kamidi joined us for our Conversation this week. They are responsible for the Baltimore Beat, a unique local newspaper. They shared their experiences producing the paper, especially as women of color. This nonprofit free paper is produced every two weeks and seeks to give voice to those in Baltimore whose voice is often not heard.

The conversation explored their educational and career paths as well as the mission and operation of the paper. The students shared the kind of stories they would most like to see covered and the need for youth voices to be amplified.

We appreciate having these trailblazers join us!

Conversation with TCS Alumni

The students enjoyed one of their favorite “Conversations with…” today as alumni Dyrrell Moon, Olivia Yates, Ronan Guilfoyle and Jayla Nickens-Gill came back to the school. There was keen interest in the experiences that these former students had when they were in the school.  The alumni shared the special value they hold for their time at TCS and how it transformed and shaped their lives. They were also inquisitive about how the school is serving current students and how they are engaged.

Each off the alumni represented different years in the school and stages in their lives from Dyrrell who graduated 7 years ago and is now working for an international organization doing election monitoring in Eastern Europe and Asia, to Olivia who just started law school at the University of Baltimore to Ronan and Jayla who are working their way through college.

This was a particularly useful and inspiring conversation and as one of our newest students commented, “I can see myself in them and every time we have a conversation it motivates me.”

1st Sponsor Meeting of the Year

It was a packed room as students, family members and sponsors gathered for the first sponsor meeting fo the year.  It was a chance for everyone to renew ties and for new folks to get to know one another.  Mr. Tom gave a sweeping overview of the school’s approach to education and went over the expectations of everyone.  The students shared their experiences in the first few weeks of school and several sponsors shared their positive views.  The next meeting will be in December.

Financial Literacy Seminar

Budgeting was the topic of the 1st Financial Literacy Seminar of the year.  This monthly seminar is sponsored, staffed and developed under the capable direction of Kathleen Gower, by Berman McAeer (BMc), a wealth management company.  Nearly all of the staff at BMc come in on a rotating basis throughout the year to assist in the teaching.  This month Deanna Heid and Amy McAuliffe Cooper joined Kathleen serving a delicious lunch and then teaching the class.

The students learned the basics of budgeting and setting short and long term goals. For the next few class, they are to track all of their expenses – both the ones they pay for directly and that are provided for them. This will be used as a basis for the next seminar.

This is learning an essential life skill that the students take all four years at TCS with the goal of helping them make informed choices in their future financial lives.  We deeply appreciate the folks at Berman McAleer for making this possible!