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Baltimore officials outline Charm City Youth Athletics to expand middle‑school sports
Summary
Baltimore City officials described Charm City Youth Athletics, a BCYF‑led initiative with City Schools and Recreation & Parks to expand middle‑school sports. Presenters cited registrant growth from ~1,400 to nearly 4,300, a $300,000 pilot, professional learning and a 63% participation goal by 2030.
Baltimore City officials used a City Council Education, Youth and Older Adults Committee hearing to present Charm City Youth Athletics (CCYA), a coordinated citywide effort to expand access to middle‑school sports. The initiative, led by the Baltimore Children & Youth Fund (BCYF) in partnership with Baltimore City Public Schools and Recreation & Parks, will pair direct grants with capacity building and a youth advisory council.
Alicia Lee, president and CEO of the Baltimore Children & Youth Fund, said BCYF has awarded ‘more than $40,000,000 directly to community‑based youth‑serving organizations’ since 2020 and described CCYA as a dual investment model: direct grants to programs plus a learning lab for coaching and organizational development. “This combined approach strengthens the entire youth development ecosystem,” Lee said.
City Schools officials described rapid program growth. Tiffany Bird, the district’s director of athletics, said the program’s registrant count rose from “roughly 1,400 students” in 2022–23 to “almost 4,300 students” after adding district‑coordinated programs and 16 vendor partners. Bird said the district added two full‑time staff to support middle‑school athletics and uses a quarter‑based schedule to stagger programming across the school year.
BCYF will seed CCYA with an initial local investment; speakers identified a $300,000 BCYF pilot targeted to spring programming and vendor pilots. Alicia Lee said program funding availability is expected to begin around 03/01/2026 and that the fund will use evaluation and storytelling to attract additional funders. BCYF reported 38 applicants to the vendor roster during an initial application round.
Officials described training and safety supports. BCYF’s learning lab will offer capacity building and professional learning; presenters said the fund’s learning program provides roughly 300 annual hours of professional learning for grantees and coaches. City Schools said athletic trainers are in place at traditional high‑school programs and that middle‑school events currently rely on medics for on‑site care while the district evaluates scaling medical coverage.
Committee members pressed agencies on metrics and equity. Officials said the CCYA target — 63% middle‑school participation by 2030 — currently counts registrants per activity rather than unique students and that further work is needed to evenly distribute opportunities across schools. Agencies and councilmembers agreed that facilities, transportation and continued private and philanthropic partnerships will be critical to scale participation.
Next steps: agencies said they will continue convenings, provide site visits, and return to the committee with additional milestones during subsequent hearings and the budget process.
