Living Classrooms Foundation

A raging case of football fever blanketed the Living Classrooms Foundation. Almost 500 fans packed the foundation's Maritime Institute, confirming the title of the event they were attending -- "An Evening with Brian Billick -- A Night to Rave About." During the cocktail hour, many folks lined up to get autographs from several Ravens players, get a gander at their glittering Super Bowl rings or to pose for photos with head coach Billick and the Super Bowl trophy. But the main event was yet to come -- a keynote speech by Billick and handouts of signed copies of his new book, "Competitive Leadership: Twelve Principles for Success."

A century-old skipjack owned by the city and operated by the nonprofit Living Classrooms Foundation will run cruises and private charters in National Harbor this summer under a deal approved Wednesday by Baltimore's spending board. The Minnie V, one of the state's few remaining skipjacks — sailing vessels built to dredge for oysters in the Chesapeake Bay — will be operated by Potomac River Boating for the summer. The vessel, which dates to 1906, was renovated and has been maintained and run by the nonprofit group for educational programs and tours since 1996 under a deal with the city, said Living Classrooms CEO and President James Piper Bond.

The 30 youths from Newark, N.J., were labeled "at risk" by organizers because they come from areas of frequent crime, poverty and unemployment.Did the adults get it all wrong? Some might have wondered for a moment or two. What's riskier for a city kid than standing on the leaning deck of a moving sailboat, sleeping on the ground in a Howard County tepee or examining a blue crab -- all for the first time?Yet as Marven Madden, 12, scrambled eggs for his buddies in the warm galley of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Roger B. Taney in the Inner Harbor last week, he seemed to speak for his fellow students/guests of Baltimore's Living Classrooms Foundation this week:"Oh, I'm having fun," he said, turning the eggs.

It is extremely troubling that the Baltimore City Police Department is being told it will need to cut 300 officers from its rolls while the city pays $1 million to groups of ex-convicts to help stop street violence ("In the shadows, thwarting violence," April 18). Although an interesting concept, it appears that that there is a significant risk that some of these "mediators" will succumb to the temptation of cashing in on their street credibility. Additionally, their work does not even attempt to address the cause of this violence.

The name of John Dillow, a marine biologist with the Living Classrooms Foundation, was spelled incorrectly in an article yesterday about the planting of oysters in the Choptank River. The Sun regrets the error.

In an article yesterday on the Living Classrooms Foundation, the name of its port captain, Christopher Rowsom, was misspelled. The Sun regrets the error. Pub Date: 3/29/96

In yesterday's Live section, two items included incorrect information.The Oriole Bird will appear from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Once Upon A Child at Normandy Shopping Center, 8450 Baltimore National Pike, Ellicott City. (410) 418-4707.To arrange for a tour of Baltimore's Inner Harbor on the Skipjack Minnie V, call the Living Classrooms Foundation at (410) 685-0295.The Sun regrets the errors.Pub Date: 8/16/96

On January 5, 2004, ANN D. DANDRIDGE of Baltimore, daughter of the late Edmund P. Dandridge and Ann Davis Dandridge, loving mother of Sarah Stifler of Los Angeles and William Stifler of Baltimore, beloved sister of Sarah Dandridge and Pete Dandridge, beloved aunt of Nicholas and Benjamin, lover of Golden Retrievers. Memorial gathering on Saturday, January 10, at 10:30 A.M. at The Living Classrooms Foundation, 802 S. Caroline St., 21231. In lieu of flowers, please send contributions to National Historic Seaport of Baltimore at the above address.

The new stewards of the Constellation say they want to tear down an information center on Pier 1 that has been roundly criticized as an eyesore and replace it with a building that offers better views of the restored warship and a new gateway to Baltimore's Inner Harbor.The Living Classrooms Foundation, a nonprofit organization that will operate the Constellation when it returns to the Inner Harbor next week after a $9 million restoration, received approval yesterday of preliminary plans for a two-story building from Baltimore's Design Advisory Panel.

James W. Rouse was a social architect and humanitarian whose visionary thinking improved cities around the globe, including Baltimore.Elizabeth Flick was a 13-year-old McDonogh School student who died in 1980 in a camping accident in Wisconsin.They never knew each other. But they will be inextricably linked on Baltimore's skyline, through the construction of an unusual memorial that will be dedicated to both.The Rouse-Flick Learning Tower will be a 75-foot-tall, $150,000 wooden observation tower, built starting this fall on a city-owned pier that serves as the East Harbor campus of the Living Classrooms Foundation.

Even before the ink dried on the six-year contract extension Nick Markakis signed with the Orioles in January 2009, the budding star right fielder vowed that he would make as big an impact off the field as on it. Four months later, Markakis and his wife, Christina, announced the formation of a nonprofit organization called The Right Side Foundation, whose mission was to improve the lives of distressed children throughout Maryland. In just six months, the Markakises have hosted children from the Ronald McDonald House on a trip to the ESPN Zone and aquarium, led a group from the Living Classrooms Foundation on tours of Camden Yards and the Sports Legends Museum, and organized a day at the Ravens practice facility for patients from the Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital.

Even before the ink dried on the six-year contract extension Nick Markakis signed with the Orioles in January 2009, the budding star right fielder vowed that he would make as big an impact off the field as on it. Four months later, Markakis and his wife, Christina, announced the formation of a nonprofit organization called The Right Side Foundation, whose mission was to improve the lives of distressed children throughout Maryland. In just six months, the Markakises have hosted children from the Ronald McDonald House on a trip to the ESPN Zone and aquarium, led a group from the Living Classrooms Foundation on tours of Camden Yards and the Sports Legends Museum, and organized a day at the Ravens practice facility for patients from the Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital.

The Fells Point waterside locale of the Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park was awash with lots of people and loads of good cheer for Living Classrooms Foundation's annual bash, Maritime Magic. After being greeted by Living Classrooms CEO/president James Piper Bond, guests browsed dozens of food stations and bars set up by local eateries, and perused a massive silent auction. For many of the almost 2,000 guests, this was one annual party they wouldn't miss. "This is the best event in the city.

An outreach worker for the Safe Streets program was among 12 people wounded at an East Baltimore cookout Sunday, a development that could cast unwanted attention on a well-regarded group known for mediating conflict out of view of law enforcement. Steven Bountress, director of operations for the Living Classrooms Foundation, which administers the Safe Streets program, said the unidentified worker suffered multiple gunshot wounds and remained in the hospital Tuesday with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.

When a two-alarm fire struck Fells Point's Sugar House in 1993, many people feared that a piece of Baltimore history would be lost forever. The blaze destroyed the roof and much of the top floor of the 1840s-era warehouse, one of the neighborhood's most-treasured landmarks. But today, the three-story building is whole again, rebuilt as part of the Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park operated by the Living Classrooms Foundation, a nonprofit that teaches skills to city youth. The maritime park, in the 1400 block of Thames St., is one of 10 restoration projects singled out for Historic Preservation Awards this year by Baltimore Heritage Inc., a citywide preservation advocacy group.

The brick walkway unrolls encouragingly along the southern rim of the Inner Harbor, past the Maryland Science Center, Rash Field and picturesquely docked boats. When Baltimore's storied waterfront promenade sidles up to the Rusty Scupper restaurant, a point where walkers are probably just getting warmed up, a sign on the parking garage there beckons them further, to "go the extra mile." Thing is, one step past the garage and the strollers had better be swimmers too. Despite repeated declarations by Baltimore's leaders that a linear park hugging the harbor would become a public asset the likes of which few cities could boast, and a magnetic economic development tool to boot, all Baltimore can brag about so far is an intermittent series of path pieces that dot the waterfront like a strip of Morse code.

The Rev. Johnny Calhoun A conversation last fall aboard a historic ship sparked the idea of bringing a Baltimore nonprofit program for at-risk youths to Annapolis this summer. A tangible result could be rebuilt wood windows throughout the state capital's historic district. A more far-reaching result could be that the work would be done by local youths learning to become carpenters. The proposal took a significant step this week as a group of city leaders toured the Living Classrooms Foundation campus in East Baltimore to watch its "learning by doing" educational philosophy at work.