Building Bridges for Baltimore City Youth

Published in Children’s Voice, Volume 33, Number 2

by Chloe Baier

It’s a Tuesday afternoon in Baltimore City. Kiki, a fifth-grade student at Yorkwood Elementary School in northeast Baltimore, hops on the Bridges bus with a small group of other students from Baltimore City elementary schools to head to The Bryn Mawr School, a private, all-girls K-12 school. Kiki and her peers are attending the Bridges afterschool program, where they will spend the afternoon playing games, completing their homework, and practicing math facts with high school student volunteers from Bryn Mawr.

A few miles down the street in the Belvedere Square area, Rashard, a student at Roland Park Middle School in north Baltimore, sits down with his tutor at the Bridges Loft—an open work and tutoring space for Bridges students—to review his planner and determine a study strategy for upcoming tests. Also at the Loft, Yinka, a 12th grader at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, meets with Bridges’ Director of College & Career Guidance to discuss her college applications. She is interested in a degree in cybersecurity and hopes that this weekly series of meetings will help her perfect her college essay, seek out scholarships, and gain admission to her top-choice universities.

About an hour to the south, at the University of Maryland, College Park, college senior Jhemel is polishing his resume. Bridges’ College & Career team is helping him to aggregate the skills he has developed in his 13 years with Bridges as he takes his first step as a young professional: landing a job in information technology.

While Kiki, Rashard, Yinka, and Jhemel each attend different schools, have unique family structures and socioeconomic backgrounds, and are pursuing their own distinct goals, they are tied together by a common thread: their participation with Bridges Baltimore.

Bridges: A Dual Mission in Baltimore
Bridges Baltimore is committed to the long-term success of Baltimore City youth and life-changing volunteer opportunities for independent school students. Serving 346 Baltimore City school students and 285 independent school students during the 2023-2024 program year, Bridges’ population is as diverse as Baltimore’s itself.

Baltimore’s history of segregation echoes throughout its neighborhoods. One of its most significant residual effects is the stark resource disparity embedded into the city’s educational landscape. Baltimore’s public schools often lack sufficient resources needed to provide highquality education, while independent schools have historically existed as beacons of wealth, privilege, and opportunity. Bridges works to connect these communities, redistribute resources, and build a more equitable society.

Program
Baltimore City Youth
Each fall, Bridges recruits third graders from Title I public schools in Baltimore. Serving children and youth ages nine through 23, Bridges’ year-round program aims to help Baltimore City youth achieve consistent academic success from elementary through high school, graduate from high school and college, and find fulfilling careers that lead to financial security. Three core program areas are key to realizing these goals:

• Summer enrichment: Fourth- through ninth-grade Bridges students engage in the Summer Institute, receiving academic, art, athletic, and cultural enrichment at one of Bridges’ partner independent school campuses—The St. Paul’s Schools, Gilman School, The Bryn Mawr School, or McDonough School—for five weeks over the summer. When students reach high school, they advance into the Summer Jobs Program, gaining on-the-job experience and developing skills for college and career success in a five-week paid internship. Upon high school graduation, students meet for individualized and group coaching designed to prepare them for the transition to college.
• School-year success resources: Bridges’ elementary students attend a weekly After-School Program, where they are paired with independent high schoolers for homework support and academic enrichment. Middle- and high-school students engage in monthly weekend workshops that set them up for success in school and future careers; they also have access to after-school tutoring. High schoolers, college students, and early professionals receive individual advising and support, tailored to the unique situations that arise in a young adult’s life.
• School placement support: Students in all transitional grades—5th, 8th, 12th, and college seniors— meet regularly with knowledgeable Bridges staff to identify and gain admission into best-fit middle schools, high schools, colleges, and careers.

Independent High School Volunteers, Direct Service, and Training
Ninth through 12th grade students from Bridges’ partner independent schools volunteer in programs with Bridges’ youngest students. The two fundamentals of Bridges’ program model—direct service and training— function together to create a space for independent school students to build close and caring relationships with Baltimore City School students, learn about issues of unequal access and opportunity in Baltimore, and be part of building a more inclusive and connected city. In the summer, independent school students volunteer as camp counselors in the Bridges Summer Institute, assisting teachers and building relationships with students. During the school year, they function as tutor-mentors for Bridges’ elementary schoolers, offering homework help and facilitating enrichment activities. Volunteers receive training that centers around relationship-building, leadership, and better understanding Baltimore’s education system. Training occurs in group workshops, one-on-one check-ins, and seasonal field trips to visit Bridges’ feeder elementary school partners, where the Bridges 4th and 5th graders learn.

Impact
Baltimore City Youth
Bridges incorporates individualized support through all levels of its program model in recognition that success looks different for everyone. However, Bridges’ impact is clearly demonstrated by a snapshot of its senior classes in high school and college. Consistently, 100% of Bridges students graduate from high school, 80% of those enter college, and 67% of college entrants ultimately graduate with a degree. By comparison, in Baltimore City, students are 69% likely to graduate from high school and 33% likely to enroll in college in the fall after graduation. Of those who enroll, 23% will graduate with degrees within six years. Students’ post-high school choices are diverse and based on a deeply individualized application and evaluation process, supported by Bridges. Students attend colleges throughout the state and country—from Loyola University and University of Maryland, College Park, to the University of Southern California, Wake Forest, and Yale. Bridges alumni work in industries across the spectrum, from engineering and medicine to journalism and education. Those who opt not to attend college serve in the military, study a trade, or enter the workforce—and continue to receive support from Bridges in their early professional years.

Independent School Volunteers
Independent school volunteers go on to be interconnected citizens, often pursuing degrees and careers in education, social justice, or similar fields. They volunteer with local organizations long after high school and help to expand access for historically excluded populations. Former volunteers are now educators, nonprofit leaders, and professionals who invest in their communities—right here in Baltimore and as far away as Cape Town, South Africa. Many stay connected with Bridges through the years, coming back to volunteer, collaborate, donate, or work with Bridges as adults. In fact, Bridges’ Executive Director of 18 years, Rob Paymer, was first involved with Bridges as a volunteer in his sophomore year at St. Paul’s School in the 1990s.

An Ongoing Commitment to Baltimore
Bridges’ impact is constantly growing. In June, Bridges launched its fourth program location, Bridges at McDonogh School, expanding its reach into the west side of Baltimore for the first time. Ultimately, Bridges plans to operate eight sites throughout the city and will serve 2,200 participants per year at full capacity. As Bridges looks to the future, the organization remains steadfast in its commitment to empowering Baltimore’s youth, bridging divides between communities, and building a more inclusive and connected city. Through collaborative partnerships and innovative programming, Bridges aims to build understanding, empathy, and opportunity to create lasting change in Baltimore.

Chloe Baier is the Director of Communications at Bridges Baltimore, Inc., responsible for managing external communications of the organization, including grant-writing, social media, newsletters, branding, and more. After graduating from McDaniel College in 2017 with a BA in social work, Chloe began working with Bridges as a Public Service Fellow, developing and implementing enrichment curricula for 4th through 9th grade students at one of Bridges’ program locations. Now in her seventh year with Bridges, Chloe stays connected to the mission of long-term support of Baltimore City youth and life-changing opportunities for independent school students through her leadership in communications and continued relationships with Bridges participants and families.