Blog

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!

Conversation with Michelle White

The students enjoyed a lively and meaningful “Conversation with…” Michelle White on Friday. Ms. White is the Assistant Dean for Early College and Access Programs at Baltimore City Community College.  Many will recognize her as the former long term Principal at Western High School.

Ms. White shared stories about her early life growing up in Baltimore and attending public schools through her time as a teacher, administrator and principal in the Baltimore City School system. She talked about her challenges and the importance of her family and community in her ability to weather them. The students were impressed with her commitment to young people and the expansion of their opportunities through a quality education. She was as interested in the students as they were of her which led to a very active, wide ranging discussion.

The Community School has renewed its ties to Baltimore City Community College through Ms. White and she and her office have expanded college programming at the school for TCS students.  They are now providing a professor to come into the school each semester to teach a three credit college course to our 11th and 12th grade students.

We are very thankful for the warmth, caring and candid sharing from Ms. White as well as her support in deepening our college offerings. This is a partnership that is off to an amazing start!

Conversation with Board of Trustees

The first conversation in our weekly “Conversation with…” series with the Board of Trustees is an annual tradition at the school. This session always begins with the students introducing themselves which this week included them talking about their previous school experience, Then, more extended introductions were given by the Trustees. Chairperson Dave Bayer along with Trustees Justin Switzer, Fleesie Hubbard and Donald Lacy were able to attend.

A lively discussion ensued with each sharing their history and experience with The Community School. Three of the four attending Trustees are all alumni with the oldest graduating in the mid-1980’s and the most recent in 2019. The students were very interested in ther experiences and how the school has changed. The Trustees were keenly interested in the students and how they value and engage in their education at TCS.

This was a great way to start what promises to be a terrific school year!