Educator Support Collaborative

Thanks you Sherwin Williams for the beautiful paint job at Lois T Murray ES! One step closer to creating a well deserved retreat space for LTM’s teachers!

Congratulations to Gwynns Falls Elementary School on its new Educator Wellness Lounge! Gwynns Falls celebrated the renovated lounge on Tuesday, May 9th with a festive Ribbon Cutting event. Principal Ulrica Berry, Emeralde A. Manko (visual arts teacher), Leah Wettstein (Hord Coplan Macht), Derryck Fletcher (The Y in Central Maryland), and Baltimore City Public Schools Chief Academic Officer Dr. Joan Dabrowski spoke on the urgent need to support educator wellbeing.

Thank you to Leah Wettstein, Alison Ho, Jessica Lewandowski, and many others from the innovative, Baltimore-based design firm Hord Coplan Macht for their deep commitment to transforming the Gwynns Falls Elementary School Educator Lounge into a sanctuary for teachers and staff. Laura Evans and her team at Atlantic Corporate Interiors, Inc. generously donated the beautiful furnishings. Sherwin-Williams remains a valuable partner and provided paint supplies. Shout out to the volunteer team from Constellation who spent many hours on a Friday painting the Lounge and assembling outdoor benches! The wonderful new cabinetry was provided by Larry Rosenberg, Neil Fruman from National Lumber, and Anibal Meija from FJA Construction. Thank you to Billy Levy and his team from Baltimore City Public Schools for removing the old asbestos flooring.

We also want to extend our gratitude to all Gwynns Falls teachers and staff. Ms. Emeralde A. Manko spoke on behalf of Gwynns Falls educators, and Shakara Head spearheaded the school’s collaboration with the design team. A special shout out to Mr. Joshua Barnes, GF’s awesome custodians who made the installation process run as smoothly as possible.

The Educator Support Collaborative is excited to announce that we closed out the Educator Wellness Lounge Makeover pilot project (for this year) at the Augusta Fells Savage Institute of Visual Arts, where the final Educator Lounge ribbon-cutting celebration took place yesterday on June 5th. We look forward to what’s next!

Want to join us? Visit www.educatorsupportcollaborative.org/ to get involved!

Joan Dabrowski, Chanae Tynes, Derryck Fletcher, Leah Wettstein, Emeralde A. Manko, Shakara Head, Principal Ulrica Berry, Joshua Barnes, Rashad Cooper, Laura Evans, Billy Levy, Larry Rosenberg, Neil Fruman, Anibal Meija, Charmayne D. Turner, Donald Darnell Eaddy, Alison Ho, Jessica Lewandowski, Laura Evans, Paul Wolman, Cindy Paradies, Celeste Perilla, Roger Schulman, Sarah Sandoval-Mohapatra.

Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical High School (Mervo) launched its newly renovated Educator Wellness Lounge this past Monday, May 15th with a lively Ribbon Cutting Celebration! Principal Tricia Lawrence, Councilwoman Odette Ramos, and Charmayne D. Turner from The Y in Central Maryland shared powerful remarks on the importance of creating a culture of care for educators.

Kelly Ennis, Erin Deason and many others (Ari Rosenberg, Chris Puddy, and Abi Knipscher) from the talented, women-led design firm The Verve Partnership generously donated their time and design expertise to this project, creating a restorative and replenishing space for teachers and staff! The Verve Partnership Team was also a Lead Partner in the Educator Support Collaborative’s pilot project, recruiting all 6 local design teams! Each design team provided pro bono services and furnishings for all 6 Wellness Lounge Makeovers.

Thank you to J.W. Radabaugh from the QWRK collective environments for providing all the furnishings for the space and to Sherwin-Williams for their ongoing partnership. And, we are so grateful for the Baltimore Family Alliance, led by J’aime Elskoe-Drayton, for providing refreshments, supplies and appliances for Mervo and several other Lounge Makeovers!

A huge shout out to Raymond Marshall, Mervo’s incredible Community School Coordinator. Raymond spearheaded this project for Mervo, coordinating logistics with the design team and getting input from teachers. He did it all with a huge smile! Special thanks to Principal Lawrence and to Sandy Johns, Mergenthaler’s CTE instructor who did all the electrical work for the lounge.

The Educator Support Collaborative looks forward to closing out the 6th and final (for this year) Educator Wellness Lounge Makeover next week with a final ribbon cutting celebration on June 5th at Augusta Fells Savage Institute for Visual Arts High School. By listening to our teachers' needs, we hope to continue proving what's possible when our community unites! As Principal Lawrence explains: “Teachers sorely need a safe space to de-escalate, reset and recharge and now they have exactly that.”

Want to join us? Visit www.educatorsupportcollaborative.org/ to get involved!

Photos by Larry Lichtenauer
Event Press Release: https://i95business.com/releases/5155
Raymond Marshall, Kelly Ennis, Erin Deason, J’aime Elskoe-Drayton, Chris Battaglia, Celeste Perilla, Councilwoman Odette Ramos, Charelle James, Kristen Kinkopf, Sarah Sandoval-Mohapatra, Paul Wolman, Cindy Paradies, Roger Schulman, Baltimore City Public Schools, Fund for Educational Excellence

Johnston Square Elementary unveiled their new Educator Wellness Lounge with a beautiful Ribbon Cutting celebration.

Morgan Singer and Ashley Hastings of Arris, a Design Studio, Inc. executed their inspired vision for the space, working in partnership with Sara Rowan of Price Modern, Sherwin-Williams (and many others), and the teachers at Johnston Square Elementary #016 to create an oasis for teachers and staff.

Thanks to Sierra Stenhouse-Community Schools Coordinator, Principal Olumijii, Donald Eaddy and the entire The Y in Central Maryland and Ms. Warren and all the teachers and staff at Johnston Square Elemtary for their partnership in this project.

Ms.Warren said, “It was refreshing that not only was this project done for us as teachers, it was done with us.”

Our teachers know what they need. We can show them we care by listening and responding in partnership.

photos by Harry Bosk Photography

Donald Darnell Eaddy Mary Warren Baltimore City Public Schools Fund for Educational Excellence Paul Wolman Cindy Paradies Alyce Brown Amanda Lowery Sherwin-Williams for Design Pros The Verve Partnership

Ms. Schaffer, Special Education Teacher at Matthew A. Henson Elementary School shared with us why the school's new Educator Wellness Lounge is important to the staff.

"Having an updated staff lounge is a huge gain for the morale of the staff here at Matthew A. Henson Elementary. Having a space that is comfortable and inviting is a great way for us to commune and relate on a different level. We can eat lunch with one another and get to know each other outside of the professional realm. Having a time and a place to be together with colleagues is great for tackling the school year day-by-day.”

Thank you, to Ms. Schaffer and to the teachers and staff at Matthew A. Henson who work hard for students everyday!

Our teachers deserve our support and thanks. ❤️

Positive Schools Center The Y in Central Maryland Baltimore City Public Schools Baltimore Family Alliance Baltimore Community Foundation Moseley Architects Fund for Educational Excellence Nikomar Mosley Douron Cindy Paradies Paul Wolman Felicia Moore Baltimore Teachers Union Wide Angle Youth Media Jessie Unterhalter