The Hope Academy, a Christ-centered middle school, is located at 1403 West Florida Street at the Florida Street Baptist Church. Currently, Hope Academy serves 5th-8th grade, with plans to expand to the elementary school. The above photo features the Hope Academy step team as they were performing on stage at the International Civil Rights Center and Museum on South Elm Street.
On March 10th, the Civil Rights Museum offered a free screening of the movie STEP. This movie, released in 2017, follows the senior year of young ladies on a high-school step dance team at an inner-city Baltimore school. The movie documents the struggles of the team members as well as the realities of social unrest in Baltimore. After the movie, the Ben L. Smith High School Step Team and the Hope Academy Step Team both performed for the audience. The teams' coaches spoke of the importance of providing the opportunity for students to step dance. Fostering pride, dedication, and self-discipline are three of the many benefits of this heart-healthy activity.
Mark your calendar for Saturday, April 21st. Ben L. Smith High School will have an all-day event including a yard sale and performance by step teams from around the State. The event is a great way to support the Smith Team. If you want to support Hope Academy, here is their online wish list. It includes items at all price points, from classroom furniture to paper clips. If you like for your donations to stay local, these schools and step teams would love to be the recipient.
It seems to me I have heard of the movie, STEP. Baltimore is a beautiful city in some ways. I was there in 1974 leading a young adult conference in conjunction with the biannual convention of the Lutheran Church in America. There was a garbage strike at the time. The place stank. But Baltimore continues to have lots of troubles.
Re your comment on Ocala: If I were to speak about the Trump administration, my use of the word, egregious, would be ubiquitous.
Posted by: Lowell | Thursday, April 05, 2018 at 09:18 AM
Good shot!
Middle schools here tend to go from grades six to eight, at least when I was there. I wonder if it's changed since then.
Posted by: William Kendall | Thursday, April 05, 2018 at 11:57 AM