Thank you to Dinah Winnick for talking such great notes to share with others in the community. And big thanks to the UMBC community members who shared their perspectives with us!

Read on for the overview. If you're interested in continuing this conversation or have other topic/panel discussions you'd like to see in the mother's group, please contact Jess Myers at womens.center@umbc.edu.

Panel:

Lisa Gray, Assistant Director of Student Life, Cultural and Spiritual Diversity 

Stephanie Lazarus, Human Relations Manager

Jason Loviglio, Director of Media and Communications Studies 

Tim Nohe, Professor of Visual Arts 

 

Parents began by introducing themselves and sharing their experiences finding childcare (for young children) and schools (for K-12 children) that were a good fit for their families’ needs. The conversation touched on how to balance a range of factors: school proximity to home and work, tuition costs, diversity, safety, educational culture, curricular rigor, discipline style, teachers’ communication style, test orientation, and serving students with special needs.

 

Tim Nohe shared his experience as a founder of the Baltimore Montessori Public Charter Elementary, including joys (e.g., curricular flexibility and independence, interactions across age groups, diversity) and frustrations (e.g., difficulty managing building maintenance, lottery system v. local zoning). One of his children now attends the Friends School of Baltimore, which provides a curriculum and structure more suited to that child, but which is a private school with high tuition and a less diverse student body. He is happy to share his experiences with both programs, as well as with the Waldorf program, which his children previously attended.

 

Jason Loviglio focused on his children’s experiences at the Greenmount School (secular, mixed-income private school with very small classes) and Mt. Washington Elementary School (well-regarded public school with more rigid structure and test-focused orientation than his family was seeking). He shared the Greenmount curriculum in detail, including its focus on project-based learning, connections between subjects and creative production. The school is K-8, with approximately 100 students; field trips and projects encouraging the children to connect with Baltimore communities are frequent. Although his family has been very happy at Greenmount, Jason did note that one positive of Mt. Washington is it prepares kids for IB programs, feeding into Baltimore’s top public high schools. In addition to these programs, Jason can share his family’s previous experience at Jewish Community Center of Greater Baltimore childcare.

 

Lisa Gray discussed her tough decision to move from Baltimore to Howard County to find a public school with a diverse student population, strong curriculum, and that would be a supportive, encouraging environment for her inquisitive, energetic daughter. She had concerns that the public schools she toured in Baltimore focused too much on discipline and that the physical environments (e.g., school buildings, playgrounds) were not in the best condition. She was also concerned that she wouldn’t be able to find a space at a Baltimore charter through the lottery system, where siblings of current students tend to take up a lot of the spaces, and that Baltimore private schools were too expensive and would not have enough racial and socioeconomic diversity. By moving to Howard County, she was able to find a public school that fit her family’s needs and was also fairly close to her work, UMBC. Her daughter is at Elkridge Elementary and has had a great experience with a teacher who is very open to lively children. Beyond the regular school day, the school and district also provide counseling services to promote self-esteem and tackle bullying, support for kids with divorced parents, field trips and parent engagement programs.

 

Stephanie Lazarus shared that she has children from elementary school to graduate school and is happy to speak with parents about how to access services for children who learn differently. She also discussed the importance of kids having good experiences with their peers.

 

Parents discussed concerns with finding programs that would meet their children’s learning styles and personalities. One parent was worried that her shy child would not get enough attention in large, public school classes, where disruptive children can monopolize the teacher’s time. She was going to explore a private school with smaller classes that might be a better fit.

 

Other parents offered their thoughts on finding educational services for children with special needs (e.g., dyslexia, ADD). They noted that public schools must provide accommodation due to state law though often a parent must be an active advocate to make it all happen, but that private schools can offer smaller classes and other features that benefit some children with special needs, though they are not obligated to provide accommodation and can be quite expensive.

 

Bilingual education was the final discussion topic, with a parent highlighting the Baltimore International Academy, a K-8 public charter school that offers French, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish and Russian language immersion (soon to offer Arabic as well). Although the school has a lottery, the school staff members suggest that a large proportion of applicants are currently able to attend.

 

The event ended with all panelists offering their contact information for parents with questions relating to school selection in and around Baltimore.

 

After the meeting, Stephanie Lazarus shared the following Spanish language immersion programs: Archbishop Borders School in Highlandtown, Montgomery County Public Schools (including Burnt Mills Elementary),  the Feynman School in Bethesda, and Maryland International Day School in Oxon Hill.