2019 CIIP Program Book CIIP Booklet 2019 | Page 18

What I took away from this internship was a sense of fulfilment and a look back at my own
academic upbringing. I went to one of my site’s partner schools, Moravia Park, which deals
with a similar issue of absenteeism. Working on my project made me reflect on the factors
that allowed me to go to school every day and how much of a challenge it can be for stu-
dents to get to school. I am really glad to have been placed at my site. First, because my
supervisor Ahmad is amazing and second, because the work I do there is amazing. It was
a privilege to read about all of the stories behind students’ absences and that encourage
me to think critically for possible solutions to the issue. But it has been interesting recon-
ciling with the reality that, even if a child wants to come to school, as long as their parent
is apathetic, it will always be a challenge for them to come to school every day. I also got
the chance to listen to a candid lecture given by another faculty member at the school who
happens to give workshops on the history of race in Baltimore. The last weeks have been
a series of accomplishments for me because I finished creating the database on student
absentees, called all of the parents, and prepared all the letters to be mailed out. The most
surprising thing I learned from trying to mail the letters was that stamps costs 50 cents!
That is a lot and I was surprised that even schools had to pay that since they are a part of
the government.
What still astonishes me about my experience is learning just how much Ahmad and other
community members know about their school, students, and their communities and how
involved they are. As we would walk through the local community of Perkins, it was refresh-
ing to see people and children coming up and chatting with us because Ahmad was some-
one they knew was working for them. Once again, thank you to CIIP and to Ahmad for
wanting another intern this year! It has truly been worthwhile.
Community Partner: City Springs
Elementary/Middle School -
Child First Authority
Intern: Moufidatou Adedoyin
Site Supervisor: Ahmad Collick
What is Child First Authority?
Child First Authority (CFA) pro-
vides funding to (1) organize high
quality after-school and in-school
programs in Baltimore City Pub-
lic Schools, (2) organize parents,
school staff, and community
partners to act on their vision of a
brighter future for BCPS children.
• Created a database with information on chronic absentees and students at-risk of
being chronically absent using spreadsheets
• Collected data on students using previous database and by calling parents/
guardians of many students to find out causes of absences
• Used data to create charts that show a picture of what causes affect student ab-
senteeism more dramatically
• Wrote summer letters and prepared letters to be mailed to parents/guardians
detailing their students absences and the importance of attendance
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