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Baltimore Talent Development High School started years ago as an idea at the Center for Social Organization of Schools. Leaders in the Talent Development program wanted to start a school from scratch and jumped at the chance to start an Innovation School. In 2003 CSOS’s application was approved.
Students and teachers began working together in the summer of 2004. A summer bridge program gave the first teachers and students a chance to get to know one another and get to work early.
Teachers and staff from CSOS got started in the building early in the summer. Dumping old textbooks, moving furniture, hanging screens… we had to do most of it ourselves, but it got done. When students came at the end of August, the building was ready.
The school year started off well, with lots of parents coming to orientation, and everyone getting started with the new uniforms. Bright yellow was the not the students’ first choice, but soon it was simply what the school looked like. One exciting project in the beginning of the year was the Whole School Read. Every student, every day, spent time reading “The Pact”, an inspiring story about boys swearing to support each others’ quest to become doctors. The reading project finished with poetry, dance, and letters, all inspired by the true stories in the book. A film crew even came to watch, and offered to include our students’ work in a video about the book.
Early in the fall, some students reached out to the greater community by supporting an event hosted by the neighborhood in Lafayette Square.
In November of our first year, we held our first annual Birthday Party, well attended by staff, students, and supporters of our school. It was a good chance to appreciate the hard work we had already done, and a great party!
The Arts and Expression period, a chance for students to work with professional artists, went extremely well. Students created works in pottery, poetry, painting, dance, theater, band, and many other subjects. Some of the work was so strong that even the teachers were impressed!
After a while, school had settled into a good pace, with attendance high throughout the year. In second semester, the math department decided to go to a program called Cognitive Tutor, designed to provide individual support for students in Algebra. Students went to the computer lab for half of their week, and seemed to enjoy it. The competition over who could move fastest through the program was fierce!
The spring saw the time to choose which Academy students would be in for 10th through 12th grades. In the end, the split was even between Arts and Public Service Academy, and Science and Public Service. The phrase public service had to be in both titles because our students were so drawn to the idea that if only one academy had that in the title, it would have had all of the students!
The first year ended in reflection. We had done a great job in promoting community in our school, had great attendance, and very high promotion rates. We all knew we needed to do a better job at reaching out beyond our school walls, and were excited to grow our new Upper Academies.
The summer went well. Van Robinson led some rising 10th graders in a summer program that enhanced their reading and exposed them to the campus of Johns Hopkins University. The Summer Bridge program continued successfully, even drawing the eye of a research fellow.
The beginning of the second year saw the school expand in the building, with some offices moving over to the Lanvale wing, and students moving to the second floor in the Calhoun wing. The Arts and Expression period expanded to include Career Exploration, and students have had a chance to work on video game animation, law enforcement, and medical arts. Students also have the opportunity to explore Microsoft certification.