By Tim Tooten
CLARKESVILLE, Md. —It’s been almost eight months since the world watched parts of Baltimore City going up in flames in the midst of rioting. Among those looking on were high school students from nearby Howard County.
They’re now joining forces with teenagers in Baltimore City to look for solutions. Students from both school systems said they are serious solutions to a very serious problem and they’re going about it with a focus on business development.
Students worked on a series of very important business plans at the Applications and Research Laboratory High School in Howard County, a career and technology high school.
It’s really important. It’s really fun to be a part of because we are hoping to connect the community as well as helping to redevelop Baltimore,” student Andrew Peters said.
By way of technology, they connected with fellow students from Baltimore’s Patterson High School. The two schools are creating what’s called an economic trailblazers Cristata Care Project.
“We finished the mission statement, the vision and the goals and everything. We have a solid idea,” one student said.
Howard County’s academy of finance teacher Dr. Maddy Halbach said students from both schools have a half a dozen business plans in the works.
“They were so excited about it, and on back-to-school night, I told the parents and they were just like that is going to be such a great project,” Halbach said.
On the heels of the Baltimore riots in April, the partnership is a promise and one that’ll be student driven.
“What was happening in Baltimore City really didn’t just happen in Baltimore City, it happened around the world. It affected places 15 miles down the road. It affected the students in Howard County,” Howard County superintendent Dr. Renee Foose said.
“We thought about which schools to approach, and we approached Patterson because Patterson has a business program and that’s how the partnership and the relationship got started,” Halbach said.
The goal is to select one business plan and take it from paper to reality by the spring. It’s already showing signs of progress.
“This is actually teaming up with another school and you are going through the process of working with others,” Loretta Kavanaugh said.
Students are putting together a half a dozen business plans. The goal is to select one to develop by the spring.
“Hopefully this is a very powerful experience for them because usually what we do are class projects they are mostly make believe,” Kavanaugh said.
But teachers are convinced that’ll all change by the time students complete the project.
“It was a natural fit for our students’ skill level in what it is that they want to go into once they get into the college exploration and things like that,” said Rick Robb, principal at the Applications and Research Laboratory High School.
Students are planning another face-to-face meeting in Baltimore City the first of the year.
The student business proposals include everything from a teen resource and career center to payless loans payday loan company to a tutoring center to a 3-D ping pong business.