Sail250 Brought the World to Baltimore
For the last three years, Living Classrooms has been leading the planning for Sail250 Maryland on behalf of the State of Maryland and Baltimore City to bring the world to Baltimore with 14 international tall ships as well as U.S. Naval ships, waterfront festivals, and an amazing multiday airshow to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary! All the ships including our own fleet of Historic Ships were open all week, free to the public for touring. Over 600,000 visitors enjoyed Sail250 waterfront festivals on the Inner Harbor, Fells Point, Baltimore Peninsula, and at Martin State Airport in Baltimore County bringing significant economic development value to the Baltimore region. Governor Wes Moore, Mayor Brandon Scott, and other leaders joined us for a wonderful welcome ceremony. "America is a nation of strength because America is a nation of sacrifice," Governor Moore emphasized. "To everyone who has sailed here, to everyone who has come down to the harbor today. Welcome to Sail250. Thank you for being part of history. Thank you for remembering the men and women who made this history possible as we celebrate the greatest experiment that the world has ever seen.
It was amazing to see the waterfront alive with people visiting from near and far, all coming together to commemorate this momentous occasion and enjoying our beautiful city. The airshow was spectacular featuring four different flight teams including the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, British Royal Air Force Red Arrows, French Air & Space Force Patrouille de France, and the U.S. Air Force F-16 Viper Demo Team. The Living Classrooms STEM Exploration Zone occupied the Inner Harbor Pratt Street Pavillion, with 32 partner organizations, and was very popular drawing over 16,000 students of all ages to enjoy hands-on STEM activities. On Saturday, Living Classrooms' President and CEO, James Bond, our Crossroads Charter Middle School Principal, Dr. Villaran, and our Crossroads students led the Parade of Nations around the Inner Harbor. They marched with thousands of sailors and representatives from all visiting ships as well as the Baltimore Marching Elite marching band, drumline, and dance team kicking off the festivals with cultural exchange, music, and joy.
Over the last month, Living Classrooms' Lady Maryland, Sigsbee, and Mildred Belle have been traveling the Chesapeake Bay participating in Sail250 celebrations including Smithfield, Onancock, Cape Henry, Reedville, and Norfolk, VA. The Lady Maryland continued following the Sail250 commemoration as it moved to New York City over July 4th and then on to Boston. Thank you to our amazing Captains and educators for their hard work and passion delivering hands-on education programs for hundreds of students. In July, there are 30 Baltimore students from 17 schools, with each student sailing for nine days, aboard Lady Maryland and with the tall ships thanks to the generosity of the Carey Foundation.
Sail250 involved years of planning with multiple partners and city and state agencies in addition to coordinating over 800 volunteers, fundraising, and collaborating with organizations such as Sail Baltimore to create a well-organized, safe, educational, and fun Sail250 week. The Living Classrooms team is grateful to all our dedicated staff led by Chris Rowsom, and our multitude of partners, volunteers, and sponsors, including major sponsors the Maryland Stated Department of Commerce and Northrop Grumman, who helped make Sail250 an amazing success for the history books!
Summer Programming at Living Classrooms
In Baltimore, you will find 150 K-8 students at the UA House and POWER House engaged in daily programming and also learning about HBCUs, each day students learn in our hands-on programs and experience rich cultural traditions like gospel choir, marching bands, stepping, and fraternities and sororities steeped in service and camaraderie. On the East Harbor Campus, 50 BUGS/Crossroads students are brushing up on academic skills in the morning and spending afternoons working in the gardens, exploring local urban environmental features, and cooking delicious summer snacks. At Masonville Cove in South Baltimore, you will find 40 elementary students exploring nature, building and deploying underwater robots to get a look at what is beneath the waters of the Patapsco, dissecting plants, and learning to use GPS units to go geocaching.
Junior Rangers at Kingman Island in DC are earning a paycheck as they learn marketable green economy skills while engaging in hands-on work projects that improve the islands—they also have opportunities to learn how to canoe and kayak and see the Anacostia River from a totally new perspective. In both Baltimore and Washington, DC, eight interns with our Ascend Through Music Program (AMP) are learning to write, play, record, and produce music, as well as serving as positive role models for younger students and exploring post-high school options. Summer program students at all sites are also taking field trips to enjoy swimming, hiking, cultural sites, and amusement parks. With a bustle of fun and enriching activities every day, Living Classrooms is providing a summer to remember!
Living Classrooms Historic Ships Receives
Maryland 2026 Preservation Award
This month, Living Classrooms Historic Ships in Baltimore was awarded Maryland's 2026 PreservationAward for Excellence in Restoration! Maryland Historical Trust's award recognized our recent USS Constellation rigging restoration project, the first comprehensive conservation of the ship's three masts and rigging since 1999. The six-month project combined traditional maritime craftsmanship with historically appropriate materials and served as a "living classroom," providing hands-on training opportunities for participants in Living Classrooms Foundation's Maritime Workforce Skills Training Program. Maryland Historical Trust's Director Elizabeth Hughes presented the award, “What makes this restoration especially significant is the way the work was carried out in full public view. Observation areas on Pier 1 allowed students, residents and visitors to watch the restoration process firsthand and learn about the traditional trades involved in maintaining historic vessels. The rigging project also incorporated workforce development opportunities, giving Living Classrooms participants hands-on experience working alongside professional riggers and preservation specialists in a nationally significant project.” Three apprentices from our workforce skills training program, Ories Macklin, Brendan Harris, and Shamani Waite each played a role in the restoration. Since then, Ories has joined the Historic Ships team as a Preservation and Maintenance Technician, Brendan will attend Coppin State University this fall, and Shamani has applied to the Underwater Welders Union apprenticeship while continuing his training at Living Classrooms' William Polk Carey Marina.
Thank you to the Maryland Historical Trust for funding this significant restoration project and to our Historic Ships team for all their hard work completing the work on schedule and on budget. Living Classrooms is honored to be recognized for ensuring that the USS Constellation remains a strong national historical landmark and an inspiration and "living classroom" for future generations of students and visitors to Baltimore's Inner Harbor.
BUGS and Fresh Start Create Unique Floating and Shoreside Wetlands at our East Harbor Campus
On June 12, students in our Baltimore Urban Gardening with Students (BUGS) andFresh StartPrograms assisted our partner BioHabitats(a company that provides nature-based solutions that help create a more resilient world) to plant two unique wetlands including a hand-crafted floating wetland in the Lancaster St. Canal adjacent to our East Harbor Campus. BUGS is one of our out-of-school-time enrichment programs working with our Crossroads Middle School students using urban horticulture to support academic success. Fresh Start is our workforce development program for adjudicated youth that uses carpentry as a medium to provide vocational, academic, and social skills training.
Our Fresh Start students were tasked with constructing a 21' miniature Chesapeake Deadrise boat to hold a floating wetland as the boat's bottom with the goal of improving the water quality in the canal; this is important to the ecosystem as the Lancaster St. Canal also has the last shoreline wetland in the Inner Harbor. Marsh Hibiscus, Smooth Cordgrass, Sturdy Bulrush, and four other species were planted in the floating wetland and in a new 25' onshore planter equipped with a watering hose system powered by a stationary bike to help our students pump harbor water into the planter and then after filtering through the marsh grasses the cleaner water is then pumped back into the canal. Our students, in partnership with the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology (IMET) and BioHabitats, will periodically test the water quality and track different animal species that live in the canal. Living Classrooms President & CEO, James Piper Bond, also participated in the planting, helping our students both in the floating and shoreside wetlands. It was a special project for James, reminding him of the first wetland planting project Living Classrooms did with the Chesapeake Bay Trust on this East Harbor Campus shoreline in 1990.
The two new marsh wetlands on Lancaster St. Canal are thanks to a Healthy Environments, Healthy Communities Grant from the Chesapeake Bay Trust and is produced in partnership with Biohabitats. We can't wait to see how the canal improves over time as our students care for their new wetlands!
Living Classrooms Partners with the Terry McLaurin Foundation on Job Readiness Program for Youth in Washington, DC
On July 15, Living Classrooms in partnership with Nace Law Group, Department of Energy & Environment (DOEE), Department of Employment Services (DOES), and the Terry McLaurin Foundation held a job readiness assembly for students at Phelps High School and students participating in the Green Zone Environmental Program (GZEP), a paid internship program providing experience in a myriad of energy and environmental career fields. Chris Nace, a Living Classrooms' DC Board member and Managing Member of Nace Law Group, spoke to students about uplifting community and the benefits of participating in programs like GZEP. He then introduced Terry McLaurin, a professional football player for the Washington Commanders. Terry runs the Terry McLaurin Foundation and has continuously poured into Washington, DC communities, "I just had a vision of helping young people in the DMV area be the best versions of themselves." Terry spoke to the students about the importance of their education, confidence, and preparing to be ready for the workforce.
During the event, GZEP students participated in three stations focused on important aspects of job readiness. The first station led by Living Classrooms' own Kingman Rangers and Junior Rangers was a Hands-On Tools Exploration. Students learned tool safety and then practiced what they learned building a birdhouse as they talked through different careers that connect to their interests. The second station was Elevator Pitch Practice, facilitated by Living Classrooms and GZEP staff, where students worked on identifying individual key skills, experiences, and attributes to highlight in networking and interviews. This was an interactive space where youth were encouraged to develop and practice an individual and professional statement. The final station led by our staff and Junior Rangers was a tutorial in Professional Clothes for the Workplace. Students were able to try on and take home professional attire such as button-downs, ties, and blazers to prepare them for dressing in the workplace.
Terry participated in all three stations, talking with our students and answering their questions. He and the Terry McLaurin Foundation also presented Living Classrooms with a $20,000 grant to support our educational programs in Washington, DC. Thank you, Terry McLaurin and the Terry McLaurin Foundation, Chris Nace and Nace Law Group, DOEE, and DOES for your partnership and for helping us create an unforgettable event for our students!