Keeping Education & Our Youth at the Forefront

November 2021

Welcome Deputy Mayor Faith Leach!

We are excited to welcome Deputy Mayor Faith Leach as the Interim Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Children and Family Success.

“It is an honor to serve as the Interim Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Children and Family Success alongside the front-line staff leading the charge to radically improve the lives of Baltimore’s children and families. Our contributions to Baltimore through the Baltimore Community Action Partnership Centers, Head Start, the Children’s Cabinet and our youth engagement work are vital, especially as our City navigates a public health emergency and economic crisis.” —note from Deputy Mayor Leach to staff in early November

Three questions for Deputy Mayor Leach

What has prepared you for the dual role of Deputy Mayor for Equity, Health & Human Services and Acting Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Children & Family Success?

Working with grassroots leaders, community-based organizations and governments to solve the intractable challenges facing vulnerable communities is more than my passion, it is my purpose. I have spent nearly two decades working behind the scenes to reform education systems, fighting to close the racial wealth divide, providing access to equitable opportunities to overlooked and underserved communities and advocating for reforms to our criminal justice system, specifically for incarcerated women.

Prior to joining the Scott administration, I served as Chief of Staff at the JPMorgan Chase & Co. Foundation where I helped develop the firm’s $30B business commitment to advance racial equity. Additionality, I spent close to a decade in DC Government, where I stood up a first-of-its-kind Deputy Mayor’s Office focused on revitalizing overlooked and underserved neighborhoods and led special education and truancy policy for the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education.

My appointment to serve as both Deputy Mayor and Interim Executive Director of MOCFS is a full-circle moment for me. Through this work, I get to live out my purpose.

Where were you born and raised?

I was born in New York, but raised by my great-aunt in rural North Carolina. I spent most of my childhood between Harlem, NY and Goldsboro, NC – two radically different parts of the country that shaped who I am, how I show up in the world and my career path.

What is your favorite quote?

There is an African proverb that states, “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.” Together – we will transform the lives of Baltimore’s children and families.

Celebrating American Education Week

November 15-19, 2021

This month we recognized American Education Week (AEW) to celebrate public education and honor the individuals working to ensure that every student receives a quality education.

We are thankful to The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Accountability and Implementation Board (AIB) who is responsible for ensuring the recommendations of the Blueprint law (a multi-billion dollar investment in Maryland schools) are implemented and moves schools towards its intended goals. The AIB had its first meeting on November 15, 2021 despite not receiving the funding they require to fulfil their legal obligations under the Blueprint.

If you are interested in collaborating with the Mayor’s Office of Children & Family Success to support the continued fight to secure money for Baltimore’s students and to stay updated with the progress of the Blueprint's implementation, please contact Eddie Hawkins at eddie.hawkins@baltimorecity.gov.

Connecting with Baltimore’s Opportunity Youth

Dating back as early as the mid 1980’s, Baltimore has grappled with a persistent youth panhandling challenge, specifically youth that participate in free-lance windshield washing at high traffic intersections across the city. In response, the Scott Administration has launched a 90 Day Squeegee Action Plan to eliminate the challenges facing young people that squeegee.

The Mayor’s Office of African American Male Engagement (MOAAME) will continue to lead the charge to engage and provide wraparound services to youth who squeegee.

Please feel free to check out the Squeegee Action Plan or click the images above to learn about our efforts.

Collective impact requires collective action

Collective impact requires collective action. We need all of #mybmore on board between now and December 31. We encourage you to write our state lawmakers who are leading the push for juvenile justice reform and tell them why they must introduce and pass the Juvenile Justice Reform Council recommendations in full during the the 2022 legislative session.

For more information and a sample letter template please visit us online at www.bmorechildren.com/youth-justice

Meet Ania

Ania is raising awareness about human trafficking and trauma among #mybmore youth through the Not For Sale project she created with funding from Philanthropy Tank.

Meet Ania and more youth at bmorechildren.com/youth