When Students Needed Us Most
School closures hit students hard across many communities, including Baltimore City. Many struggled with isolation, technology barriers, and declining grades. Parents worried about their children falling further behind. One student remembered, “I couldn’t get into classes on time or get my stuff in order. I was failing.”
In partnership with Baltimore City Public Schools, NorthBay created the NorthBay Academy, a bold program designed to keep learning and hope alive.
The Academy welcomed sixth graders identified by City Schools as most vulnerable to learning loss. While students continued their virtual classes with teachers back home, NorthBay provided structure, tutoring, and enrichment on campus.
Days blended online learning with hands-on outdoor education, Live multi-media shows and creative outlets. Students joined Zoom lessons in the morning, then learned science on the shoreline, wrote songs in the music studio, or conquered the rock wall in the afternoon. One student recalled stepping onto campus for the first time, “I wasn’t used to seeing trees everywhere. My community doesn’t have lavender and mint like this. It felt amazing to be in nature.”
Parents noticed the transformation too. “After seven long months of no communication with anyone, my child finally got outdoors and reconnected with peers.”
Partnership and Accountability
The Academy was made possible through deep collaboration. Baltimore City Schools coordinated student selection, transportation, and communication with principals and teachers. Johns Hopkins University served as the program’s independent evaluator, ensuring outcomes were carefully measured and lessons captured for the future.
This was more than a stopgap. It was a rigorously designed model of how schools, nonprofits, and universities can work together in a time of crisis. As Dr. Hunter Gehlbach of Johns Hopkins noted, “NorthBay’s residential experience is truly unique among comparable outdoor experiential programs in that it acts as both an intervention for environmental outcomes as well as important outcomes related to students’ academic confidence.”
Dr. Sonja Santelises, CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools, put it plainly: “Why, as a society, have we not prioritized this kind of an experience and learning for all children?”
The impact was measurable. Students who participated in NorthBay Academy averaged nearly one and a half years of reading progress per semester on state assessments.
A Story Worth Celebrating
The results reached far beyond academics. Students gained patience, resilience, and respect for others. One reflected, “This place is really good to change your personality or change who you are. I learned to respect everybody.” Another proudly shared, “Since I came to NorthBay Academy, my grades have gone all to A’s.”
Perhaps most powerful were their words of gratitude: “This place is literally amazing… I’m happy I’m here because I made new friends, got help with my work, and changed who I am.”
The NorthBay Academy was born out of crisis, but its impact endures. It stands as proof that when we invest in young people through partnership, innovation, and compassion, lives change.
As we celebrate 20 years of NorthBay, we look back on the Academy with gratitude. It was more than a program. It was a lifeline. And now, we invite you to join us at our 20 Year Gala, where you will hear more stories of impact and meet the students and parents whose lives have been transformed by NorthBay. Together, we will celebrate the past, honor the present, and invest in the future of the next generation.
