We build a community around every student.
Community Scholar was founded on a simple idea: when parents, tutors, teachers, and administrators coordinate around a single child, that child's motivation and grades rise faster than any single intervention can produce alone.
Today, our focus is Baltimore City and specifically our partnership with The Midtown Academy where we're targeting on-grade proficiency for at least 80% of participating students in grades 2–5
Community Scholar began as a small, volunteer-led tutoring effort in Southwest DC, coordinating a handful of neighborhood adults to support students at Amidon-Bowen Elementary School.
Mission
To meaningfully and expeditiously raise the grades of every student, through the structure of coordinated community support.
Vision
A city where every elementary student has a small, dedicated cohort of adults invested in her academic growth.
What differentiates our approach.
Community first, not program first
We start with the adults already invested in a child, parents, teachers, neighbors, and give them the structure to work together. →
Staff & board of directors
A working board of educators, parents, and community leaders.
Twenty years leading community rooted education programs across Baltimore and DC.
Public finance executive; longtime advocate for Baltimore City Public Schools.
CPA and nonprofit auditor with a focus on lean operating models.
Parent leader from Amidon-Bowen; helps shape family engagement.
Former MCAP assessment specialist; guides curriculum alignment.
Neighborhood organizer; connects partner schools and volunteers.
Neighbors and parents, mostly.
Ms. Jordan
ELA · GRADES 3–5
Parent tutor at Midtown Academy
Mr. Alvarez
MATH · GRADES 2–4
Retired MCPS educator
Ms. Chen
MATH & ELA · GRADE 2
Neighborhood volunteer, 3 years
Mr. Ferguson
ELA · GRADE 5
Johns Hopkins student volunteer
What partners are saying
“I just wanted to thank you for all the work you are doing with my third graders. All of them have made some kind of improvement on their middle-of-the-year assessment.”
“Tatiana was able to not only move to the advanced math group, but acted as a peer helper in the advanced group. She already came in knowing rounding and was helping others.”
“Community Scholar's structure gave our parents a real seat at the table. The consistency of small group tutoring and the accountability that came with it moved ..”
