Stephanie García

How a 24-year-old Educator Became a Principal

Kenneth Gorham knows that many school leaders are at least two decades older than he is. But he didn’t let that stop him from becoming one of the youngest principals in the nation at the age of 24. When Gorham accepted the position last year, he also…

Audio Story: Making the Teaching Profession a Home for Native Educators

Listen to this audio story When high school senior Jurrien Fowlkes began attending biology class, he gained something unexpected: a teacher who helped him connect with his Native community. He didn’t just learn biology from his teacher, Alec Dugin…

Creating Schools Where Black Male Teachers Can Thrive

Black male educators, woefully underrepresented in U.S. classrooms, say mentorship and a sense of community help ensure they stay in the profession. Rachael Tutwiler Fortune remembers the difficult transition of leaving her neighborhood elementary…

This North Carolina School Ranked First in Academic Growth. Here’s How.

Henderson Collegiate, a K-12 charter school in North Carolina, is beating the odds. The school, located in rural Vance County, not only exceeded expected growth on state standardized tests. It earned the highest growth index value of every school in…

Improving Voting Access for Marginalized Communities One School at a Time

Blanca Adriana Ontiveros (New Mexico ’12) works with schools, educators and students to boost understanding of how children can advocate for change and push for greater voting access. Blanca Adriana Ontiveros has taught bilingual special education,…

Building Schools Where Students Are Free to Be Their Authentic Selves

After coming out as gay when she was a high school freshman, Hailey Saya Tomlinson faced intense homophobia and targeting from students, school administration, and some in the community. Then after coming out as a trans woman this school year, the…

Student Activists Preserve Dark Legacy of Japanese American Incarceration Site

“I thought I was a free-thinking American with the right of a trial before conviction. Only I can’t be convicted because I haven’t done anything unworthy of a citizen.... It’s as Mary Oyama wrote. The only crime was being born Japanese." Teenager…

Afro-Latinx Students Navigate Racism and Erasure in the Classroom

When her reading scores skyrocketed a couple of years ago, Dakota Pouncie says she wasn’t praised or celebrated. Instead, “I got undermined for my academic ability,” said Pouncie, a high school senior in Connecticut, who is Afro-Latina. She says her…

‘Overenforcement’: Black Baltimore restaurant owners say they’re harassed and subject to spurious 311 complaints

With challenges ranging from the uncertainty of what the latest wave of the coronavirus pandemic means for their business to worker shortages, some of Baltimore’s Black-owned restaurants say they also deal with harassing behavior and spurious…

UMBC students archive Highlandtown’s Latino immigration history and food culture

Thirteen students from University of Maryland, Baltimore County, are working to fill a gap in history with the Highlandtown Immigration and Food Project. Through archival research and panel discussions with nonprofit groups’ leaders and business…

Highlandtown celebrates La Posada, a Latino Christmas tradition, with a procession, dancing and songs

One chilly December evening, the candlelit procession started with dancing and drumming. The performance group Danza Guadalupana did an elaborate sequence of steps, hops, squats and spins to honor the patron saint of Mexico, the Virgin Mary, or La…

Baltimore animators and opera singers are behind a Spanish and Afro-Latinx retelling of ‘La Boheme’

An Afro-Latinx and Spanish-language reimagining of Giacomo Puccini’s classic opera, “La Boheme,” comes to life with a new animated film available for streaming online this week. Set in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, D.C., during…

Maryland lawmakers restrict cooperation with federal immigration agencies, advance new congressional maps

Maryland jails will no longer house federal immigration detainees and federal immigration agents’ access to state databases will be limited, following actions Tuesday by state lawmakers. The Maryland General Assembly voted to overturn two vetoes from…

Researcher and social justice practitioner advocates for Baltimore’s Black gay and bisexual community

Durryle Brooks was shocked to learn that roughly one in three Black gay and bisexual young men 15 to 24 years old reported experiencing intimate partner violence. He learned the statistic while managing a five-year clinical research trial for the…

At this Baltimore restaurant, coquito — or Puerto Rican eggnog — is a holiday hit with deep cultural roots

The recipe at Elisa Milan’s Baltimore restaurant is the same one she learned from her grandmother: coconut cream, milk, vanilla extract, cinnamon and rum, slowly mixed together over the stove and left to cool. The result is a creamy, cold drink known…

In Southwest Baltimore, Mount Clare uncovers historical gems and beautifies neighborhood

On South Gilmor and West Pratt streets, a mural depicting a green hummingbird surrounded by blue, yellow and pink flowers decorates the intersection of the neighborhood of Mount Clare. Arts and Parks, an organization that blends street art and…

Pigtown Climbs seeks to build community by involving the community with its fresh vision

BALTIMORE — The abandoned lot in Pigtown on Washington Boulevard sat empty for 60 years. Now a group dedicated to equitable development and environmental justice wants to build a climbing gym there. But before one rock is scaled, its leaders are…

After experiencing domestic violence, two Baltimore survivors organized a walkathon to raise awareness

Two survivors are behind Baltimore City’s first annual walk to end domestic violence, Reach for the Stars. On the last Friday in October, the evening walkathon in Downtown Baltimore raised $1,700 in online donations. “The outcome we wanted was to…

One rock at a time: Pigtown Climbs seeks to build community in Southwest Baltimore

The abandoned lot in Pigtown on Washington Boulevard sat empty for 60 or so years. Now a group dedicated to equitable development and environmental justice wants to build a climbing gym there. But before one rock is scaled, its leaders are talking to…

Stephanie Ybarra on directing equity on and off Baltimore’s Center Stage

Stephanie Ybarra, the artistic director at Baltimore Center Stage, is a theater veteran of more than two decades. Ybarra’s also the country’s first Latina artistic director of a major theater. She not only directs offstage with a lens towards social…