Baldwin Community Schools

Baldwin Community Schools

The ABC (Academic, Behavior, Conscious) Awareness Growth and Development Program operates annually to accommodate Baldwin Community Schools students K-12. ABC Awareness Growth and Development Program’s mission is to develop academic skills, and improve behavior and attitudes in a low performing, low-income community.

The ABC Awareness Growth and Development Program was founded in 2019 by the Lewis family. Then implemented and introduced October of 2021 in an afterschool program in Baldwin Community School. This program was presented by Theresa Lewis and Jheresa Lewis; mother and a daughter. Baldwin Community Schools has served over 20 students, K-12. The program initially started with donated supplies from the Lewis family. Then Baldwin Community School staff, parents, local business and community members began to take interest and give donations and supplies as well. The ABC program has now applied for a total of 4 grants and have been awarded 3 of the 4. With the additional funding of the program, they will now be able to help their community center Bread of Life Kitchen that serves over 619 families in the community. Baldwin Community School has been serving as the Community Center for many years. With access to two gyms, two cafeterias and multiple classrooms. Baldwin Community School will be organizing and utilizing the facility to teach community members many useful life lessons and skills free of charge. The ABC program will also be holding monthly community events inviting community members to engage in learning horticulture as well as donating fresh grown food during their events. This community center (Baldwin Community Schools) has been used by the public for shelter, funerals, alumni gatherings, recreation, etc. The outdoor facilities that are publicly used by the community are a few of the school’s main attractions.   

The gardening program gives the participants an opportunity to experience different gardening possibilities that may fit them individually as well as in their community and immediate environment. Gardening provides an ideal setting for individuals of all ages, races, cultural, social, and religious backgrounds to engage and interact peacefully through observing the similarities between a natural plant and human growth process. Horticulture is essential to the growth and development of the community through their students. Which as a result will help their students and staff realize the importance of discovering various different ways of growing both literally and perspectively. ABC’s program is designed to encourage participants to see how plant growth can universally apply to everyone’s own lives when observed consciously. Gardening various different fruits and vegetables provides the students with an opportunity to share the successful results yielded from their gardening experience with other students and staff members both educationally and nutritionally, creating the opportunity for improvement in diet choices and overall mental and physical health. This project was designed to stimulate the participants educationally, cognitively, emotionally, physically, and prospectively. The distractions that bombard this generation are oversaturated with superficial, self-destructive patterns of behavior—making it more and more difficult every day to attract attention and respect from a device to a voice.

With the help of this program, the ABC program hopes to lower the dropout rate and increase the graduation population percentage by giving the participants an incentive to look forward to after school, which also produces tangible, rewarding results. The Program will include scheduled chaperoned field trips to educate the participants about various gardening facilities that associate with the nature of the program. In addition to promoting school completion, this program is seeking to increase awareness of the importance of healthy living, and the ability to negate rising costs of produce and natural resources through self-production and the self-sustaining gardening.