Community Partner: Baltimore
City Public Schools - Parent &
Community Advisory Board
Intern: Josh Lee
Site Supervisor:
Monique J. Simms
What is Baltimore City Public
Schools - Parent & Community
Advisory Board?
The Parent and Community
Advisory Board (PCAB) is orga-
nized to provide advisement and
consultation to the Baltimore City
Public School Board of Com-
missioners and Chief Executive
Officer, by ensuring parent and
community involvement in the
development and implementa-
tion of the education policies and
procedures of the school district.
The group works to ensure that
the voices of parents and com-
munity members work to rein-
force equity and inclusion for the
benefit of all students attending
Baltimore City Public Schools.
I’ve always thought the strength of a city’s education system was an indicator of its poten-
tial—a litmus test of sorts for its ability to grow. Put simply, the quality of education feeds
directly into the pipeline of future leaders who will invoke meaningful change. With this in
mind, Baltimore City’s future felt incredibly bleak for people subscribing to stories from na-
tional media outlets—including myself. From emphasis on schools without heating to harsh
criticisms of City Schools’ leadership, it seemed that Baltimore’s youth were being set up for
failure. Yes, these are genuine issues that needed to be addressed. However, there is very
little talk of the positives, such as the introduction of 80 new community schools, to name just
one, and the tireless work of City Schools staff to enact these positive changes.
Working alongside the Office of Engagement staff and members of the Parent and Commu-
nity Advisory Board (PCAB) has demonstrated to me these positives. What was most striking
to me was how much the Baltimore community cares for its kids, helping me see Baltimore’s
bright future in the hands of its youth. Whether they are working full-time with City Schools or
participating on a volunteer basis outside of their day jobs, there is an undeniable passion for
the youth. My internship experience, wedged between the marriage of the Office of Engage-
ment and PCAB, has focused on the importance of the community in the well-being of stu-
dents—the former working to implement the new community schools and the latter aspiring
to be the voice for parents and community members. By participating in meetings around
community engagement and working on my projects to improve PCAB’s communication with
its stakeholder groups, I got a first-hand look at the strategies for improvement the media is
not highlighting. With all that I’ve witnessed this summer, I realized that my previous notions
of the state of City Schools were missing the remarkable work my co-workers have been
doing for years and the passion they bring with them everyday. I feel incredibly fortunate to
have worked alongside them to implement the strategy of family and community engage-
ment surrounding youth.
• Created systems and structures for improved engage-
ment/communication with stakeholder groups for the
Advisory Board
• Managed the Advisory Board’s social media outlets by
systematizing types of posts and creating an editorial
calendar for scheduling purposes
• Conducted interviews with key community members and BCPS Office of Engagement staff
to better support stakeholder groups
• Completed administrative tasks to help organize the board and provide foundational struc-
tures for the upcoming academic year
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