Listen first, then act.
Our residents are the heart of our neighborhoods. Without them, there is no true sense of community.
On February 26th, the voices of East Baltimore rang out loud and clear to Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners.
The Safety and Wholeness listening session, held at Collington Square Recreation Center, brought over 50 community members together (including nonprofit organizations) to discuss student safety and wholeness. This marked District 13's first school board meeting, an important milestone hosted by Councilman Antonio Glover and Broadway East CDC.
We heard a lot of great ideas, but one particular point that stood out, was the reiterated message of going back to "the way it was."
Not by rolling back progress or reducing efforts in areas like mental health or teaching methods.
What community members mentioned is seeking a return to the strength and closeness of community — a "village" mentality that supports and uplifts each other, especially in the face of challenges. It's clear that this mentality is not just about physical proximity but emotional and communal connection.
A number of attendees spoke about a lack of communication and collaboration, highlighting the importance of bringing back a sense of belonging and unity rather than division and isolation, and advocated to create a community as an interconnected whole, where every voice is heard, and every need is met through shared efforts.
So the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners listened -specifically, the Safety and Wholeness Committee, chaired by Mujahid Muhammad, pictured above.
Who else is on that committee?
The committee is comprised of members: Mujahid Muhammad (Chair), Andrew Coy, Ashley Esposito, Dylan Rooks and Khalilah Slater Harrington.
Their role? To engage with district personnel and stakeholders to develop a comprehensive roadmap that will enhance safety standards and services for students and staff AND leverage the guidance and resources from federal, state and local levels to incorporate cultural, restorative, and healing-centered approaches within student wholeness initiatives.
Commissioner Muhammad led the evening as an open forum where community members could air their concerns and share their ideas.
He reminded the community that "there are great things happening in city schools" and that the lack of communication about these initiatives is something his team is working on.
One example of this was a concern about nutrition in public schools and the existence of a previous farm relationship that has since been abandoned, but Commissioner Muhammad was able to quell and correct this concern. The Farm to School program is alive and running: Farm to School | Baltimore City Public Schools
Here were some other concerns, needs, comments and ideas:
Truancy:
An educator spoke up and defined truancy for the audience. “Truancy is the act of staying away from school without good reason.”
A proud father of two Baltimore City Public School graduates said that when he looks out his front door during the day: "I see kids roaming the streets.”
A man named Rod said “Truancy can turn into chronic absences.”
One man said "you don't punish or incentivize people to be attendance. You listen to eliminate the barrier.”
Communication and guidance on available resources
“It’s always like ‘here they are' and it's still miles away from helping us."
"There ARE many resources for our kids. Families just need to know about them from their school."
A community school coordinator said that “Baltimore City has over 150 community schools... Resources are not the issue it’s the communication.”
Active shooter fear
A 5th grader said she doesn't feel safe in school thinking that someone could come in and they aren't prepared
Relationship Building and student voice
"It takes a village to raise a child" said a 68-year-old woman
Creating relationships with police officers with young students, and Commissioner Muhammad mentioned that the school police force is strong.
Encouraging "peer mediation." Students teaching students.
“Students will tell you what they want if you just listen. Authentically.”
“There is one primary indicator of why students don't do well in school - number one reason - it’s not transportation or health. The number one barrier - is that students didn’t feel that there were not enough loving and caring adults in the schools.”
Baltimore City Public Schools Administration
A community member named Ron asked: "Why does the school system have a CEO; that’s a corporate position. If you have a corporate position, we should be getting corporate results.”
“Systems are not created for young people. They're created to secure adults.”
Increased Home Visits
A representative from Concentric Educational Solutions said: “We did 25,000 home visits for Baltimore City last year. There is a false narrative that parents and students don't care.”
Transportation issues
Not enough dedicated buses
“If parents don't have a car, they can't get to those resources.”
One community member mentioned that some students have to go from school to school to make sure they get their siblings to school. "These kids are STRESSED out."
A man named Dr. Phil said: “Most kids dont go to high school near whey live... [we] have to make sure that people who don't go to school in their neighborhood… make the connection with the great resources that are in their communities. They need to know which resources are available to them.”
Need for parent support:
One parent asked if the school board could “support parents to support students.”
“I'm a parent of five, we do our best job to send our students to school.”
Therapy and mindfulness in school:
“Maybe they could have wholeness and wellness as an elective: mindfulness, yoga, working with plants, that’s therapy as well.”
Culinary therapy was a suggestion: “there’s all different ways we can help the children work on wholeness and mindfulness.”
Staff support
“Public school teachers have so many challenges but their main challenge is the people that they’re working for.”
“The issue for me is that there isn't enough collaboration… it shouldn’t just be one person, and it is most of the time."
Homeschool parent support
"I am a mom, and I am a previous pre-school teacher, and now I am a home-school teacher for my son, and he has special needs.... What else could you do for homeschool parents? ... there’s not really any resources in that department... Maybe they can get home school moms together.”
Lack of male leadership and role modeling
After a few comments on this topic, Commissioner Muhammad said “We’ve been hearing that 'men are not present. Our men are not here.' But look around the room. There are women and men here. We’ve heard from so many men this evening.”
"There is a lack of black male teachers," one man said.
Need for STEM, VOTEC and financial literacy programs
“It is unconscionable how a student can go through twelve years of school and not be prepared for life.”
One man said “our children don't know how to save money. Or invest.”
"Every child is not a child that wants to go to college... If we don't give them another opportunity, the kids will feel like they're lost and that they're forgotten."
“Why aren’t we allowing other schools to do VOTEC learning? There are currently only 3 schools that offer it.”
At the end of the evening, Commissioner Muhammad went around the room and asked the community what they want in a few words—
We want: “kids school supplies and nutritious food.” “Trades in all schools.” “Allow students to be at the table when you're making decisions.” “More dedicated school buses.” “Financial literacy.” “Have the choice of electives and to offer more electives.” “Language certification.” “Technology and updating Wi-Fi.” “Give money to charity (from 5th grader)." “Opportunities for children to create service learning to provide for others.”
We understand they may not have all the answers yet, but one thing is for sure: when we listen, when we show up, and when we work together, we have the power to rebuild that sense of village. We must continue these conversations, create opportunities for action, and ensure that no one is left behind.
Let’s remember, it takes a village. It takes each and every one of us.
Now, let’s act on that.
Submit your feedback about Baltimore City Public Schools by April 15th on their website: Complete your 2024-2025 Family Survey! | Baltimore City Public Schools
You can find all the board's committees here: Board Committees | Baltimore City Public Schools
And thank you for the reminder, Speak Easy.
Brittany Johnson-Ta, PMHNP-BC is a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner who attended the evening and provided resources.
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