The Newspaper Club at John Eager Howard School just released a Spring issue of COOL SCHOOL News. This issue is devoted to “Greening,” very appropriate as JEH is working toward Maryland Green School status.
Click Here for a copy of this great newsletter.
It’s the work and voices of our children at John Eager Howard.
On the 14th of May, new Reservoir Hill resident and Housing & Development Team member, Richard May, delivered a powerful statement about the importance of schools to communities at the Youth Opportunities rally. His remarks are below.
Richard May presentation – 14 May 2012
Youth Opportunities Rally
Representing Reservoir Hill Improvement Council
Frederick Douglas said “It’s easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” You can also learn more about a society’s future from how they take care of their young than anything else. Our children are our seeds of the future and our schools are the soil to build strong minds. It’s a simple law of nature – bad soil produces bad growth, great soil produces great growth.
So why have we neglected the physical infrastructure of our City schools – the soil where our children are developed? Leaking roofs, leaking plumbing, crumbling buildings, decay for all to see. And we wonder why we see such bad outcomes.
Schools either help attract and retain great families or serve as a deterrent. Studies have shown that the local school is the most important factor in creating and maintaining a successful neighborhood. We can’t seriously say we’re going to revitalize neighborhoods and bring 10,000 families to the city with schools that are falling apart. I’m a perfect example of the choices thousands of families are making about Baltimore. Eighteen months ago, I moved my family into Baltimore City after purchasing an incredible brownstone in the Historic Reservoir Hill section of Baltimore – one of the greatest neighborhoods in Baltimore’s history. Despite finding our dream house at a dream price with incredible neighbors within walking or bike riding distance to many of the city’s best assets like Druid Hill Park, the Art & Entertainment District, and Johns Hopkins University, it was still a difficult choice with three kids in school. Why? With one child already in private school, and another at City College High School, our concern was for my youngest Giovana, then a 4th grader and a straight A student. We were concerned about transferring Giovana to our local John Eager Elementary for her final year of elementary school because of the state of the facilities. In fact, the majority of the new families who’ve moved into the city that I talked to were paying to send their kids to private schools. We ultimately decided to tough it out for a year and commute her to her suburban school until she finished 5th grade.
Great schools are the key to great neighborhoods and true community space. The good news is that Reservoir Hill’s community is very active in doing everything it can for John Eager Howard. We have volunteer teams devoted to greening, art, & advocacy. The school just finished a new playground for their youngest students. And the Department of Recreation & Parks constructed new basketball courts and a playground right next to the school. So instead of drug dealers using the former desolate space, now it’s a new source of pride for the entire community. Even, my own 16 year old daughter, Brionna, a basketball star at Baltimore City College High School, now uses the basketball courts regularly. Do we want to create spaces for drug dealers or to attract children and their families’ with facilities of excellence for our community?
Well until we take our schools seriously, families will not take our City seriously. In fact, our children won’t take us seriously. Why? Because our City’s new Juvenile Detention facility looks better than any public school that I’ve seen in the City. What kind of message does that send about our priorities?
DO WE WANT MORE DETENTION CENTERS AND PRISON FACILITIES !?! NO!
DO WE DEMAND BETTER SCHOOL FACILITIES!?! YES!
So let’s ALL get involved in our local schools whether we have kids or not. We may not be able to repair roofs or plumbing but WE WILL MAKE OUR VOICES HEARD! Remember it’s EASIER to build strong children than repair broken men.
The recent play held at John Eager Howard School on climate change was featured on the Great Kids Up Close website. The play was held three times, each time to a different group of students, which allowed the performers to interact more intimately with a smaller audience.
Check out the story and video on:
POLAR BEARS, MS. CARBON AND EARTH
TEACH LESSON ON GLOBAL WARMING
JEH School Principal Tamara Hanson (on right) gets ready to play a polar bear
There was a great turn-out today for Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake’s press conference at John Eager Howard School. The mayor called the press conference to highlight the need for increased school revenues to modernize city schools, including passage of a bill increasing the bottle tax in Baltimore City to raise $10 million for school construction. For more information, See RHIC’s public statement.
School administration and teachers, parents and students, community members, and advocates from ACLU, Baltimore Education Coalition, BUILD, Child First, Reservoir Hill Improvement Council, and Transform Baltimore made for a diverse and enthusiastic gathering.
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake delivers a strong call for action by the City Council to make a real financial commitment to addressing school facility needs by supporting the proposed 5 cent increase in the bottle tax.
Dr. Andres Alonso, Baltimore City Public School System CEO, invites anyone who doubts the importance of the need for school renovation to spend one full June day in a classroom without air conditioning. Dr. Alonso described the dilemma of having to race to just keep up with repairs on aging schools. That’s not an answer to student needs. An answer is a major investment in mass-scale renovation.
Arica Gonzalez, John Eager Howard parent and Child First leader, delivers a passionate call for the City to take the first step in standing behind our children to ensure a quality environment to nurture students by passing the bill to increase the bottle bill tax and devote the funds to school renovation and construction.
Olivia Gooden, John Eager Howard 5th grader and Green Keepers member, inspired those at the press conference in her appeal that everyone give today’s students a chance to excel and make the investment needed in schools.
RHIC Board President, Rev. Karen Brown, speaks with Channel 13 about the importance of a healthy school in having a healthy neighborhood. Ensuring children have a good education is the most important thing we can do to keep families in a community and attract others looking to live in the city.
Rev. Karen Brown (third from left) and John Eager Howard Principal, Tamara Hanson (to the right of the mayor under the umbrella) tour Mayor Rawlings-Blake around John Eager Howard School.
Arica Gonzalez and Principal Hanson discuss with the mayor the problems posed by the deteriorating modular building on the John Eager Howard property.
A big success: The Baltimore City Public School System has agreed to demolish and remove the building this summer.
RESERVOIR HILL IMPROVEMENT COUNCIL
WELCOMES
MAYOR STEPHANIE RAWLINGS-BLAKE TO RESERVOIR HILL
HEALTHY SCHOOLS ARE ESSENTIAL TO HEALTHY NEIGHBORHOODS
Contacts: Rev. Karen Brown, President, Board of Directors; Rick Gwynallen, Associate Director; 410.225.7547 – 18 April 2012
Schools are essential to the well-being of our children now and in their future. They are also essential institutions in a community. Good schools keep families in a community and attract others to move in. We are proud of John Eager Howard School. Its teachers, administration, and students are leading the school to Maryland Green School status, but our school has needs its budget cannot meet.
Today, Baltimore City schools need an estimated $2.8 billion to provide our children high-quality, modern schools, but the longer we wait the higher the price tag will go, and with each year of waiting more and children do not get the educational experience they need and deserve. A task this large and this important will require an innovative approach and additional revenue. With creative financing and dedicated new revenue, our city can build new schools to provide our children with facilities that help them learn and achieve. Instead of substandard old school buildings that are a liability for neighborhoods, new state of the art schools could help us revitalize neighborhoods and attract and retain families in the city.
The Baltimore City Council is preparing to hear a bottle tax proposal that could generate up to $155 million for school construction. This is a key component of the Mayor’s $300 million plan to begin providing our children with modern buildings. Reservoir Hill Improvement Council applauds the Mayor’s commitment to City schools and encourages ever greater efforts toward reaching the financial goal that will allow mass-scale modernization of all schools. As members of Baltimore Education Coalition and Transform Baltimore we will work toward that goal.
What can just a few extra pennies for soda or water at the store could accomplish? It could install air conditioning in half of our school buildings, or construct 10 brand new elementary schools, or replace windows at nearly every school in the city! “My 5 cents is to remove the deteriorating modular building at John Eager Howard. Plus our children need air conditioning and clean drinking water at John Eager Howard,” said Rev. Karen Brown, President of the Board of Directors of Reservoir Hill Improvement Council.
Our students, teachers, and neighborhoods cannot wait any longer for another solution. The need to repair our school buildings is too great.
Green Thumb Day at John Eager Howard School
You’ve Heard A Lot about the Green Program at John Eager Howard
Come Check Out What We’re Doing: Join Us and Help Make JEH a Green School
On Friday, May 4th John Eager Howard School is hosting Green Thumb Day!
We’ll be doing spring plantings in the Outdoor Classroom and beautifying the school grounds with the students.
The event will run from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm and is a great opportunity for community members to get involved.
We have space for up to 10 community volunteers.
If you’re interested in volunteering, please contact
Erin Bowman by Monday, April 30th: 410.225.7547; ebowman@reservoirhill.net
Reservoir Hill has been well represented in Annapolis this session. Earlier we reported on District 40 Night in Annapolis, but in addition to that large session advocates for City schools have logged many, many hours in Annapolis building support among Maryland’s elected officials for solutions to the needs of Baltimore City schools.
Joining Baltimore Freedom Academy 10th graders and other Transform Baltimore supporters are RHIC's Erin Bowman (back row, third from left) and Rick Gwynallen (back row, 5th from left) and Reservoir Hill resident and ACLU organizer Frank Patinella (back row, 6th from left)
- RHIC's Erin Bowman waits with Baltimore Freedom Academy 10th grade students outside the State Capitol for delegates and senators.
Supported by teachers, and community members from Beth Am Synagogue’s Social Action Committee, John Eager Howard students have published the first issue of their own student newsletter,The COOL SCHOOL News. All of the contributors were fifth graders. The name came from fourth graders. Fifth graders voted on the color. The next issue will be highlighting greening efforts at the school.
The newsletter is below. For a printable version, Click Here
Twenty-four John Eager Howard parents, staff, children, and Reservoir Hill community members joined other District 40 families in Annapolis to:
1. Support passage of HB304 and the companion SB 533, which will change the way the state gives money to the city for school facilities. The bill will provide the funds in one block so it can be used to leverage other funding.
2. Support the passage of HB578 and the companion SB906, which will allow the city to leverage dedicated revenue sources for school construction.
3. Support keeping the 1% Inflation Factor in the school budget.
and
4. Oppose shifts of costs in teacher pensions to the city or city schools.
Delegate Shawn Tarrant
Delegate Barbara Robinson
One hundred and twenty people turned out for the rally. Delegate Shawn Tarrant and Delegate Barbara Robinson attended the action and assured the crowd of their absolute support.
Three of the John Eager Howard and Reservoir Hill crew played particularly outstanding roles last night.
Arica Gonzalez, John Eager Howard parent and new Child First leader, spoke movingly and eloquently as a parent encouraging our elected officials to govern wisely and provide the educational setting our children need and deserve.
Chartruse Robinson, a former Reservoir Hill Improvement Council Board Member and Board President spoke with passion and power about the critical importance of schools to the well being of neighborhoods. These two women represented JEH and Reservoir Hill with distinction.
One of Reservoir Hill’s own, Frank Patinella, led the session. Now ACLU of Maryland’s Education Reform Organizer, Frank is a Reservoir Hill resident, former RHIC Community Organizer, and School & Recreation activist.
To learn more about the campaign to improve school facilities across the city, go to Transform Baltimore.
To help our local schools right in Reservoir Hill, contact Rick Gwynallen at 410.225.7547, or rgwynallen@reservoirhill.net
We are pleased and excited to announce that as a result of a grant proposal prepared by RHIC’s Erin Bowman two AmeriCorp VISTA volunteers, Melissa Doot and Renee Goodenow, are now working at John Eager Howard School to support energy saving initiatives as part of JEH being selected as an Energy Hub school.
We have these two energetic women with us at least through May of this year. Please welcome them in the community.
Melissa and Renee introduce themselves below in their own words
My name is Melissa Doot. I’m 23 and have just moved to Baltimore as an AmeriCorps VISTA to work with the Baltimore Energy Challenge. My partner and I will be working with Baltimore City Public Schools to help students become more aware of their energy use at school. I studied Marine Biology in college, and am very interested in conservation education especially for youth. During my free time I love to run, collect vinyl records, and snowboard!
