There are more than 600 kids in Baltimore this summer who are proving there’s a sustainable way to solve a national problem—reducing the educational disparities between rich and poor children.
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Showing up is half the battle!
Monday, July 22, 2013My embracing of the notion that showing up is half the battle results from my own childhood battles with absenteeism. Like many Baltimore students, school attendance was a challenge for me; I became a habitual truant and dropped out. After a year out of school, a series of personal struggles helped me realize that a better life was only possible through education.
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Diana Morris named one of the city’s most admired CEOs
Friday, July 19, 2013Today, The Daily Record announced the 2013 Most Admired CEOs. Diana Morris, Director of OSI-Baltimore, was among the winners. The award recognizes men and women who have excelled professionally and in serving their communities.
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This isn’t your father’s unemployment line
Tuesday, May 28, 2013Job seeking ain’t what it used to be. First, you apply for unemployment compensation on a state agency website. You don’t have to talk to a person unless denied. Then, once registered, one is instructed to keep records of job-search activities because someone from the unemployment office could check on them at any time. This is where it gets complicated.
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Taking a hard look at child support enforcement
Monday, May 20, 2013Child support plays an invaluable role in the quality of a child’s life and their trajectory toward a healthy and positive future. However, non-custodial parents with criminal records often find themselves unable to meet child support obligations due to an inability to secure stable employment.
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Heman Rai, Soccer Without Borders
Monday, May 13, 2013I was born in a refugee camp in Nepal. I never imagined I would go to college because the camp only offered 1st to 10th grade.
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Big Change Baltimore: A Forum of Ideas that are Reshaping Our Future
Monday, May 06, 2013As Open Society Institute-Baltimore marks its 15th year in the city, we want to acknowledge our partners and the progress we have made in the last decade and a half. We are trending upwards on many indicators but we need to sustain the growing momentum.
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2012 Grants and Donors List
Wednesday, May 01, 2013Change takes audacious ideas, pragmatic solutions, partnerships, patience, and persistence. We are working to create a different city. With community partners and policy makers, OSI-Baltimore is developing effective solutions and making lasting change in Baltimore. Download the 2012 Grants and Donor List.
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Succeeding in Baltimore for fifteen years
Monday, April 29, 2013For the last fifteen years we’ve helped launch programs, some that have floundered and many that have flourished. Given the urgency of the issues we address, we’re very willing to take on risk and, with our partners, try new approaches. We’re here to test what’s possible and create new pathways to opportunity and justice. Fifteen years is a blip in time for our undertaking. We’re in it for the long haul—because, sometimes, it’s not until years later that the change for which we advocate is proven as the right road taken.
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Want better student attendance? Head Start may be part of the solution.
Monday, April 22, 2013Our study of attendance in City Schools’ early grades resulted in a surprising discovery. Head Start students began kindergarten with better attendance than peers from City Schools pre-kindergarten. Not only that, they maintained a higher level of attendance through the end of third grade! That’s four years after leaving the program.
