With significant support from the Ravens, a new academic center is being created to help Baltimore City Public School students advance through high school, college and into the workforce.
The launch of the Baltimore Ravens College Track Center, targeted to open in the fall of 2025, was announced on Thursday by the Ravens, the Stephen and Renee Bisciotti Foundation, M&T Bank and College Track. The Bisciotti Foundation and the Ravens will donate $10 million, and the M&T Charitable Foundation will also contribute $10 million to the project.
College Track is a national, comprehensive college completion program that makes a 10-year commitment to students from underserved communities who seek to become the first in their families to earn a bachelor's degree. The financial support from the Ravens, the Bisciotti Foundation, and M&T Bank, along with a significant investment from College Track, will help create a physical site for students and staff where the program will operate. The exact location of the center has to be yet to be determined.
This initiative is part of the Ravens College Access Program, which will be supported by $50 million in donations over the next decade benefitting three organizations dedicated to providing access to higher education — College Bound, Bridges Baltimore and College Track. The Bisciotti Foundation and the Ravens will contribute $30 million to the three college completion programs ($10 million to each of the three programs). M&T Bank will donate $10 million in addition to College Track's $10 million investment.
"The Ravens and the Bisciotti family believe enormously in Baltimore, in our youth and in the transformative power of education," Ravens President Sashi Brown said. "This Ravens college access initiative puts our belief into action, in a deeply impactful way that will reach thousands of talented and promising youths across greater Baltimore.
"We are so grateful for the vision, commitment and partnership of both College Track and our great partner M&T Bank to launch the Baltimore Ravens College Track. We are also pleased to increase support of Bridges and College Bound, long-time community partners of the Ravens, who have a tremendous track record of success supporting underserved students."
College Track currently operates 12 centers nationwide, with state-of-the art facilities and a team of educators to advise students. The program focuses on empowering first-generation college students with support extending beyond college graduation.
"College Track prides itself on the 10-year promise we make to every one of our scholars, and we are thrilled to find equally invested partners in Baltimore — the Ravens, M&T Bank, and Baltimore City Public Schools — who believe so deeply in changing the narrative around college completion by centering students who are constantly underestimated," Dr. Shirley M. Collado, President and CEO of College Track said.
"This is really special, as special as this city and the moment we're in in higher education. This is the first time we've ever done this with an NFL team. Partnerships like this are exactly what education in America desperately needs."
College Track's first center on the East Coast was established in Prince George's County, Md., in partnership with the Kevin Durant Charity Foundation and Prince George's County Public Schools. There is also a College Track center in Southeast Washington, D.C., and the Ravens have made a major commitment to help launch the first one in Baltimore.
"Access to education is a powerful way we can transform lives and uplift our Baltimore communities," said Augie Chiasera, M&T Bank's Regional President for Greater Baltimore. "By providing essential support to college completion programs, we are equipping students with the resources they need to reach their full potential."
Mamady Diallo, a sophomore at Maryland-Baltimore County who is studying computer science, said it was a life-changing experience to join the College Track Program in the ninth grade.
"It has been a key in paving my way to higher education," Diallo said. "They not only gave me the tools, but they lit a fire inside me filled with trust, belief, and hard work because I dared to dream. They helped me make that dream a reality. There are so many others like me that have dreams as boundless as space. They're just looking for the chance that College Track gave me."
Brown said this latest venture was another reflection of the Ravens' commitment to make a positive impact in the community.
"This program for us really represents the aggregation of a lot of our values," Brown said. "Our investment in community. Our belief in our youth and their talent and promise. And importantly, the transformative power of education."
