The Crossroads School, a tuition-free public charter school in Harbor East, will grow from a middle school for 162 students in grades 6 to 8 to a school for 425 students in kindergarten through grade 8, if the Living Classrooms Foundation can raise $25 million for the expansion.
The Bauer Workforce Opportunity Center in Fells Point will get $5 million for renovations and programmatic upgrades, and a $10 million Workforce Development and Education Center will be created in Washington, D. C.
These are a few of the initiatives that are targeted for funding from a $70 million campaign that the Living Classrooms Foundation has launched, called Tomorrow’s Promise.
The non-profit has scheduled an event at the Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park on Wednesday to celebrate its 40th anniversary and kick off the public phase of its campaign, which will benefit communities in Baltimore and Washington, D. C.
The Living Classrooms Foundation’s mission is to “strengthen communities and inspire children, youth and adults to achieve their potential through hands-on education, workforce development, health and wellness, and community safety programs that use urban, natural and maritime resources as living classrooms.”
The foundation was created in Baltimore in 1985, when William Donald Schaefer was mayor, and expanded 25 years ago to Washington, D. C. With headquarters at the Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park at 1417 Thames St., it uses a variety of sites and campuses to provide programming. They include: UA House at Fayette; POWER House; the Living Classrooms Marina and the Bauer Workforce Opportunity Center in Baltimore and the James C. Dent House; Kingman & Heritage Islands, and Yards Marina in Washington.
In addition to its charter school in Baltimore, which opened in 2002, the foundation has a maritime fleet that includes floating classrooms and stationary historic museum vessels that are open to the public, including the USS Constellation, USCG Cutter 37 and the USS Torsk submarine. It’s known for events such as the Living Classrooms Golf Classic in the spring and the Maritime Magic celebrations on Baltimore’s harbor in the fall.
Popular programs include shoreline and community clean-ups; mural painting, mentoring, urban gardening and other environmental projects. Its Historic Ships division is a lead producer of the SAIL250 Maryland and Air Show Baltimore activities planned for June 24 to July 1, 2026, part of a global gathering of international tall ships, military ships and aircraft celebrating the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.
The goal of the Tomorrow’s Promise campaign is “to ensure sustainability, expansion and impact of opportunities for children, youth and families.” During the campaign’s quiet phase, the foundation has received support from 190 contributors and raised $52.37 million, or 75 percent of its fundraising goal.
“Living Classrooms has mitigated barriers, created resources, and opened doors of opportunity for children and adults for four decades,” said President and CEO James Piper Bond, in a statement. “Tomorrow’s Promise represents our commitment now to future generations to provide resources and access to an array of community based, environmental, and maritime living classrooms with impactful programs and life-changing opportunities.”
The Tomorrow’s Promise campaign will provide funds to:
- Expand the Crossroads School at 802 S. Caroline St. in Harbor East, with Ziger/Snead Architects as the designer: $25 million.
- Sustain and scale Living Classrooms programs in neighborhoods within the Target Investment Zone of East Baltimore, a place-based strategy aimed at disrupting the cycle of poverty through education, workforce development, health and wellness/community safety: $20 million.
- Empower and train Baltimore’s workforce with renovations and programmatic upgrades for the Bauer Workforce Opportunity Center, a hub for customized job training: $5 million.
- Support priority and long-term needs in Baltimore: $5 million.
- In Washington DC, construct a new Workforce Development and Education Center in Washington, D. C. The 17,000 square-foot educational campus, designed by Studios Architecture, will be next to the Navy Yard in Ward 8 along the Anacostia River and modeled after Living Classrooms’ Baltimore headquarters: $10 million.
- Support priority and long-term needs in Washington: $5 million.
Philanthropists Eddie and Sylvia Brown are honorary co-chairs of the Tomorrow’s Promise campaign, which aims to meet or surpass its $70 million fundraising goal by the spring of 2026.
“As longtime supporters of Living Classrooms, we’ve seen firsthand how this organization changes lives,” they said in a statement. “This campaign is about building on that legacy –ensuring that every child, every family, and every community member has the tools to build a brighter tomorrow.”
“Living Classrooms is focused on producing results and bringing opportunities to people for a better life in Baltimore and Washington, D. C.,” said campaign chair Scott Wilfong.
For the public phase of the campaign, supporters have pledged $3.21 million to create a matching gift challenge, which will allow future donors to double the impact of their gifts. More information about the campaign is available on the foundation’s website, www.livingclassrooms.org.
