COMMUNITY
CREATING PARTNERSHIPS IN UNLIKELY PLACES THE MIDDLE SCHOOL’S MARYLAND YOUTH PARTNERS IN CHANGE PERSEVERES. By David Weeks DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY SERVICE
After years of curriculum development and partnership
experience empowers them to not fall prey to social
coordination with Barclay, a Title I school in Baltimore City,
prejudice or stereotyping. Service learning and leadership
the first Maryland Youth Partners in Change (MYPIC) cohort
development activities forged with resilience enable students
began in 2003 with each school selecting 12 students
to become advocates for social issues and leaders in
to the program. After the success of the first cohort, the
shaping a well-balanced and successful multicultural world.
program expanded to include 16 students from each school and eventually transitioned the GCS partnership from the
Societal isolation resulting from the perilous emergence of
Barclay School to the Booker T. Washington Middle School.
Covid-19 in March 2020 proved to be its greatest challenge. It separated the established partnership between the 16 GCS
Five standards and corresponding grade level benchmarks
middle school students and their counterparts from the
promoting personal development, community building,
Booker T. Washington Middle School in Baltimore City. This
citizenship, academic learning, and career development
empowering program dedicated to leadership development
guides the program. Thematically, students in sixth grade
and service-learning lost its interschool connection but
focus on discovering possibilities and making connections
maintained its commitment to promote the good in society.
culminating in a project promoting animal habitat preservation. Collaborating at the seventh grade level, MYPIC students
The separation of the schools also canceled a scheduled
embrace homelessness as their theme and learn from the
meeting with the Mayor of Baltimore and the Baltimore City
homeless and professionals supporting them how best to
Council to present their concerns and recommendations on
promote their welfare in advocacy presentations to political
homelessness based on their year-long research. Instead of
leaders. Finally, in the eighth grade, students are oriented to
visiting City Hall, students shared their research virtually to
responsible environmental stewardship and participated in
parents, teachers, and school administrators.
leadership and service activities to foster a healthy environment. In April, a virtual workshop with the Living Classroom Success in a multicultural world requires building relationships
Foundation provided an orientation to a healthy environment
and communicating effectively with people from difference
and being a responsible steward of it. The following month,
backgrounds. MYPIC is designed to build a cultural bridge
students engaged in an environmental clean-up of the
between suburban private school students and urban public
Middle Branch of the Patapsco River. This was followed by a
school students. It provides youth with opportunities to
celebration recognizing the completion of students’ three-
guide personal growth with the intent of developing
year commitment.
adolescent leaders who have the knowledge and skills to be effective and positive change agents in their respective
In the fall, a new three-year seventh grade cohort with science
communities. By building a relationship of trust and respect
teacher Noah Konkus taking over from David Weeks, who
in formative years with a culturally different person, MYPIC
has shepherded the last six cohorts.
students’ perspectives are broadened and their educational
36
SPIRIT OF THE DRAGON
