Star of the Month
New Song Community Learning Center
Congratulations to our October Stars of the Month, our amazing partners at New Song Community Learning Center!
NSCLC has been serving the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood of West Baltimore for 34 years, "with a mission focused on education, empowerment, and community revitalization." Providing education for PreK-8 students through the New Song Academy, and also offering critical support to families through the newly launched ParentChild+ West Baltimore, New Song is making a huge difference in the lives of Baltimore youth and parents every day. This year, New Song received the Henrietta Lacks Memorial Award for its "Voices in My Head" Youth Mental Health Project! We spoke with Executive Director, Jayson Green, about the different ways New Song has collaborated, and still collaborating, with SOURCE to serve its students, and how Hopkins students can get involved this year. Read our interview with Jayson below to learn more!
Could you tell us a little bit about New Song? What is the organization's mission, and how has New Song been working to serve the community this year?
New Song Community Learning Center has been serving the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood of West Baltimore for 34 years, with a mission focused on education, empowerment, and community revitalization. Our primary program is New Song Academy, a Baltimore City Public Charter School that provides education for PreK through 8th grade students.
This year, we have 184 scholars, representing 133 families—33 of which are alumni of New Song, demonstrating the strong ties and commitment within the community. Our retention rate is in the 90th percentile for students, families, and staff, confirming that New Song is a place where people feel supported and valued.
In addition to our charter school, this year we launched our second signature program, ParentChild+ West Baltimore, aimed at addressing early childhood education needs. This program focuses on providing critical support to families in high-need neighborhoods, helping to ensure that children enter school ready to succeed. Through these efforts, New Song continues to play a vital role in serving and uplifting our community.
Can you tell us more about your past or current collaborations with SOURCE?
New Song Community Learning Center has a long-standing and fruitful collaboration with SOURCE, partnering on a variety of initiatives that enhance our impact in the community. Over the years, we've worked with numerous SOURCE-affiliated scholars and programs, including hosting Service Scholars and Baltimore Action Project Scholars, who have contributed significantly to our projects and community engagement efforts. For example, one of our recent collaborations with Tyler, a SOURCE Service Scholar, resulted in a $10K award, furthering our project work in the community.
We've also had Baltimore Community Program Scholars involved in our initiatives, and our organization has served as a Community-Based Organization (CBO) partner in the Service-Learning Academy. I have personally served as a CBO Fellow in the Senior Community Service-Learning Academy Fellowship and participated on the hiring committee for SOURCE staff. Additionally, I've had the opportunity to engage with Dr. Haneefa's program and serve as a speaker for the current Service-Learning Academy.
New Song continues to stay active with SOURCE by participating in their Opportunity Fair and hosting a table to connect with new scholars and partners. Most notably, this year, we were honored to receive the 2024 Henrietta Lacks Memorial Award for our "Voices in My Head" Youth Mental Health Project, a significant recognition of our work in addressing mental health and well-being within the community. These collaborations with SOURCE have played a crucial role in expanding our reach and deepening our impact on the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood.
How can more students from Hopkins get involved with New Song? Are there any upcoming volunteer opportunities for the rest of the 2024-25 school year?
Students from Hopkins can get involved with New Song Community Learning Center in a variety of ways, especially as we have more events and activities throughout the rest of the 2024-25 school year. One of the key points of contact for volunteer opportunities is Ms. Natalya Clark, our Community School Coordinator (CSC), who helps coordinate engagement efforts and community support initiatives.
We are always looking for volunteers to support our school events, programs, and special projects. For the remainder of the school year, there will be several opportunities to participate, from helping with school activities to engaging with our ParentChild+ program, which focuses on early childhood education in West Baltimore. Additionally, there are likely to be opportunities related to our mental health initiatives, such as the "Voices in My Head" Youth Mental Health Project, for which New Song was awarded the 2024 Henrietta Lacks Memorial Award.
Students interested in getting involved can reach out to Ms. Clark for more details and sign-up opportunities as we continue to organize events and programming. We welcome all support and encourage Hopkins students to engage with us in these impactful initiatives.