The Ask: We respectfully request $2.5 million in fiscal year 2028 capital funds from the state of Maryland for the development and enhancement of facilities on our Greenspring Campus.
Why Support is Critical
- Kennedy Krieger’s students
are publicly funded and have
complex disabilities requiring
specialized support. - Funding is urgently needed to
renovate and expand outdated
school facilities. - Renovations will create sensory-friendly,
technology-integrated
spaces tailored to students’
learning needs. - A new specialized center will
reshape special education and
create transformational learning
opportunities for children with complex needs.
Funding will support the expansion of our Greenspring Campus, with local, statewide, and national impact.
Kennedy Krieger School Programs serves publicly funded students 5 to 21 years old from across Maryland. Our five schools act as an extension of the public school system, and we do not take private tuition.
The Vision
Restore and renovate the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary/Middle School on Greenspring Avenue in Baltimore back into a functional school that will include expanded classrooms for our LEAP Program and our early childhood facilities. (“LEAP” stands for Lifeskills and Education for Students with Autism and Other Pervasive Behavioral Challenges.) The building will also include space for our new Center for Specialized Education Innovation.
The Impact
Locally
- New early childhood facilities will serve the local community, adding much-needed resources for working parents. Classes will include children with and without developmental disabilities.
- Our afterschool tutoring program will benefit children in the community, especially those with specialized education needs.
- The facility will be a shared resource, with venue space available for community partners.
Statewide
Expanded LEAP classrooms will allow us to serve more students and better support our existing students with updated classrooms.
Nationally
Our new Center for Specialized Education Innovation will investigate best practices for providing individualized education to the most challenging-to-educate students, and will disseminate those approaches for others to implement. The center will serve as an education innovation hub powered by technology, uniting educators, researchers, therapists, behavioral scientists, and technologists to transform learning for every child. The center has the potential to transform educational policy and practice nationwide.