Bmore Youth Arts

The Bmore Youth Arts Advocacy Council (BYAAC) is composed of Baltimore City youth creatives in grades 10 – 12 who attend Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPSS). Council members meet twice a week from October – June to make an impact in arts education policy in the District while developing leadership and public speaking skills.

As arts advocates youth make the case for equitable access to arts learning to school decision makers, state and local leaders, families, community, and peers drawn from their collective experiences and concerns. They build on the advocacy work of the previous cohort to raise public awareness about the benefits of an arts education, identify barriers to equitable access to the arts, and outreach to potential allies who would be in support of policies that make the arts accessible to every student in, every grade, in every school no matter where they live in the city.

DID YOU KNOW?

Every student in the State of Maryland has a right to an arts education. Maryland Regulation(COMAR 13A.014.16) requires that school systems in Maryland provide K-12 students with classes and experiences in dance, media arts, music, theater, and visual arts, but not every school is meeting these requirements.

The BYAAC Cohort for the 2024-25 School Year

HISTORY OF BYAAC

BYAAC was founded in 2021 to provide Baltimore City Public School high school students with a platform for arts advocacy, while developing leadership skills, increasing public awareness, and learning about the impact school policy making related to arts education. Supported in part by the T. Rowe Price Foundation and The National Endowment for the Arts, annual cohorts leave the program poised to take the lead in a public awareness campaign that engages students and parents; all of the district’s schools teachers, and principals; in and out school partners; the broader community of stakeholders and legislators through messaging that amplifies arts equity goals.

“When we would have our interviews and when people from the school board were coming to visit us…it was just really interesting to get their take on things and see how it aligned or if it did align with us.”

Kolin

City Neighbors High School

“The thing about being a student is the overwhelmingness that comes with work and just living and being young. Sometimes acting for your own education isn’t the first thought in your mind. I’m sure there are so many students who would love to but they don’t know how to start. We need to advocate more and we need people to advocate more for us.”

Senae

Baltimore School for the Arts

“What stood out for me, was how all of us could research and then come back and do the presentation… It felt like we all contributed to it and put in the work. And it was really good. I felt like we really got somewhere with the audience…. Yeah.”

Keyona

Baltimore School for the Arts