Blog

Conversation with Comptroller Bill Henry

We were honored to have Baltimore City Comptroller Bill Henry join us for a Conversation today. Comptroller Henry shared his long experience in public service working with a nonprofit community development group and then as a member of the Baltimore City Council.  Both of these experiences prepared him for his present role as the comptroller for Baltimore. The students had a lot of questions about his career and current job, but also about the issues that the city and nation are facing today. Comptroller Henry enlightened the students about the challenges the City is facing with an infrastructure built for the nearly one million residents in the 1960’s and a tax base supported by just over half that many current residents.

We were also joined by J Hardy, special assistant to the Comptroller, who shared about his growing up in Baltimore, education, work in government, and desire to one day be an elected official himself.

The students enjoyed Comptroller Henry’s insights as well as his sense of humor. We also appreciated that he stayed nearly double the amount of time actually scheduled for his visit. This was the last in a series of visits by government officials invited to enhance the education the students have gained in their government course this year. We deeply appreciate the generosity of time shared by Comptroller Bill Henry.

Visit to the Offices of Berman McAleer

The students had another amazing visit to the offices of Berman McAleer (BMc) today.  This is an event that the students look forward to every year. It starts with a welcome and then a lunch shared with members of the staff where informal conversation is held.  This was followed by a session where the students asked questions about finance and the work of BMc. The students then met in small groups with the staff to learn about staff members individual roles in the company. Lastly, two one-on-one sessions followed where students were paired with a BMc staff so students could share about their own lives, education and career plans to get feedback, advice and support.

Berman McAleer is a wealth management firm that has been in relationship with our school for several years. They develop and staff monthly financial literacy seminars for the students.  BMc also established, with the Middendorf Foundation, an endowment fund for the school and manage it for us..

We are very thankful for this special and valued relationship and all that it adds to our students’ education.  We appreciate the founders David Berman and Joe McAleer and all of the partners who prioritize this work, the staff for sharing their expertise and wisdom with the students and Ms. Kathleen Gower for leading and shepherding the seminars and this relationship.

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.