This article outlines some need-to-knows for screeners about Baltimore, our newest iMentor region.
THE BALTIMORE REGION AND OUR SCHOOL PARTNERS
- Baltimore currently has 3 schools:
- Baltimore Design School (BDS) is centrally located in Greenmount West, and is focused on graphic design, fashion design and architecture.
- Academy for College and Career Exploration (ACCE) is located in Hampden and offers both college preparatory and vocational focused classes. Hampden is a bit further north than the other school, but it is not difficult to get to by car or public transit.
- Western High School is an all-girls school with a college prep focus. It one of the oldest public schools in Baltimore and has a higher graduation/college acceptance rate compared to our other schools in the region. It's located between between the Coldspring and Cross Keys areas of the city, north of Hampden. - Baltimore is on Eastern Time (same as NYC)
- Baltimore is a smaller city than our other regions, and most applicants drive to events. All schools have parking. Some applicants work in the wider DC metro area, and may have a longer commute to get into Baltimore due to traffic.
- The Baltimore mentor recruitment stream is diverse and evenly split between corporate and community engagement. Corporate recruitment comes from varied sources and is less focused on finance/banking than in NYC.
- Baltimore pair events normally start a bit earlier than in other regions. In 2022 the start time was 5:30PM, but there has been discussion of moving it to earlier (possibly 4:00/4:30PM). This is TBD as of May 2023. If a mentor expresses they may have challenges getting to events after work, please follow up with your manager and the region Volunteer Screening Manager.
- Baltimore can generally not accept a mentor who can ONLY do lunch meetings – applicants need to have at least some evening availability. If a mentor states they are not able to meet in the evening at all, follow up with your manager.
- As Baltimore only has 3 schools, they can generally accommodate mentor school requests. If a mentor expresses a requirement or strong preference for a specific school, please note their requires in the ‘Match Logistics’ field AND chatter the regional Volunteer Screening Manager, who can update the “Match Pool” field. However, screeners should never make any 100% guarantees for placement.
BACKGROUND CHECK PROCESS
Baltimore applicants are fingerprinted by a vendor called BITHGROUP. They will visit a storefront conveniently located in the Mt Vernon area of Baltimore. The vendor is only open Monday-Friday during business hours. As of spring 2023, the vendor requires pre-bookings, but slots are plentiful.
If an applicant mentions they have been previously fingerprinted through BCPS, they most likely still need to be re-fingerprinted for our school partners. Please notify the region manager if that is the case, with as much context and information as possible about their prior fingerprinting, and await instructions.
For more details about the Background check process in Baltimore, see this article.
BALTIMORE SPECIFIC CHECKLIST
- 2-3 days after orientation, please send out the fingerprinting instructions via the ‘Sending Fingerprint Instructions Email’ checkbox – the Baltimore Day After email does not include background check instructions
- Update Background Check Status to “Fingerprinted” once the applicant confirms they attended their appointment at BITHGROUP, and log any interactions either in the Background Check Notes field or in Activity History
- ASK QUESTIONS TO FELLOW SCREENERS AND MANAGERS AS OFTEN AS YOU NEED – IT'S ALWAYS BETTER TO ASK!
BALTIMORE POINTS OF CONTACT
Screeners should reach out first the Baltimore Volunteer Screening Manager, Karin Broberg- [email protected] for questions about individual Baltimore applicants, Baltimore screening strategy, and other regional concerns. Our regional contacts are:
Ashley Day-Gibbs, Director of Mentor Engagement, [email protected]
Kalin Dodson, Manager of Mentor Engagement, [email protected]tor.org
