Baltimore School

I was a teacher-mentor in the Baltimore City schools years ago when the city went $57 million in debt and we were all fired ("Schools audit draws concern," Oct. 9). I remember thinking at the time that the school board must have been sleeping not to have noticed the discrepancies in funding. Well, what do you know: The new school board has the same problem. Why do they accept what they are told? Isn't it their job to see through the spin to oversee what is going on in the system and make sure the job is being done?

A recently released independent evaluation of two dozen Baltimore City schools conducted in 2011 suggests that even though the system has introduced important reforms in recent years, too many schools are still struggling to find effective ways to educate children. Yet educators should take heart from two bright spots in the report. Both the Mount Royal Elementary School and the Baltimore School for the Arts got positive ratings for effective teaching, and their example strongly suggests that with the right leadership, instructional methods and support structure, all kids have the potential to excel.

If there is a single work that captures the essence of America in sound and movement, it's "Appalachian Spring," the ballet with music by Aaron Copland and choreography by Martha Graham that premiered in 1944 at the Library of Congress. Although the sonic part of the piece is never out of earshot, thanks to the perennially performed orchestral suite Copland fashioned from the score, the opportunity to experience the music and dance in its original form doesn't come around every day. Since last fall, students at the Baltimore School for the Arts have been delving into the ballet from every angle, preparing for "An Appalachian Spring Festival," an interdisciplinary project that includes an art exhibit, a concert and panel discussions.

The boy in the black leotard was throwing yet another temper tantrum. Seventeen-year-old Bilal Smith had his back to his dance instructor at the Baltimore School for the Arts. As she demonstrated a movement sequence to the class, Bilal bent from the waist, ran his hands up and down his legs and began to rhythmically twitch his buttocks: Left. Right. Left, right, left. The room became silent. "I was just stretching," Bilal said. "You can just leave," the teacher replied.

Leslie Shepard, director of the Baltimore School for the Arts who has worked at the prestigious school since it opened, will leave her post after this academic year, officials announced Wednesday. Shepard has been director at the school since 2001, but has worked there since its inception in 1979 and previously served as its Dean of Arts. "It was a huge decision for me," Shepard said. "My heart and soul is with the school, and I'm just so lucky to be part of this endeavor.

Hundreds of grown-ups headed back to high school for a night at "Expressions 2002." But this was high school they could only wish they had attended: the Baltimore School for the Arts. Here, the one-night students had their choice of arts classes. They could learn to sing or play a Sinatra tune in the music room. Or maybe do country line dances in the dance studio. There were improvisation techniques being taught in the theater rehearsal rooms. Or would-be artists could decorate sunglasses in an art studio.

As officials of a private Maine boarding school were pitching their plan for operating Patterson High to a state panel yesterday, students of the Maine school were preparing to sell the program locally -- with song and dance.Joseph W. Gauld, founder of the Hyde School of Bath, said the students will give two theatrical performances Monday at Patterson. About 10 students will come from Hyde and at least 15 from a public school that Hyde operates in New Haven, Conn., Mr. Gauld said. Songs, dances and vignettes will be followed by discussions about Hyde, where the approach centers on character-building and parental involvement.