Less than 24 hours before the first day of school in Baltimore, families at the Fifth Annual Back-to-School Bash received not only free supplies, but support that hopefully can carry them throughout the year.
A girl selects stickers and supplies from the Baltimore City Public Schols table at the fifth annual Back-to-School Bash. Photo by Charles Schelle
In partnership with Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (Bethel A.M.E.) Church in Upton, the University of Maryland School of Social Work (UMSSW) Center for Restorative Change co-hosted dozens of families on Sunday, Aug. 23, distributing school uniforms, backpacks, colored pencils, free food, and more.
The bash at Bethel A.M.E. doubled as a resource fair, connecting families with community resources and organizations, as well as with Baltimore City Public Schools.
“The purpose of the back-to-school bash is to bring community, our families and our partners together,” said Shayne Murray, a community schools coordinator with the UMSSW Positive Schools Center.
Community school coordinators like Murray help connect schools and families with organizations and resources that can address needs such as transportation, tutoring, after-school activities, and arts programming. That work recognizes that challenges outside the classroom can affect a student’s ability to learn.
“Kids don’t come to school separate from everything that’s happening in their lives,” said Murray, who helps students and families at the Historic Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Elementary School. “And that’s where we jump in.”
The UMSSW Center for Restorative Change helped introduce families to their programs and the people behind them from Family Connections Baltimore, B’More For Healthy Babies Upton/Druid Heights, RISE Early Learning and Family Support Center, and Positive Schools Center. University of Maryland Medical Center’s Community Health Improvement program and the University of Maryland Center for Diabetes and Endocrinology were also on hand.
“This type of back-to-school event is helpful because our students and their families get an extra boost of support from our community partners to help them,” Murray said.
