The Baltimore Curriculum Project (BCP) hosted their version of Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader? as Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawling-Blake, City Schools CEO Andres Alonso, Actress/Dancer/Storyteller Maria Broom and Economist Anirban Basu matched wits with fifth graders from four neighborhood charter schools in East Baltimore operated by BCP. Actor and Baltimore City School Board Commissioner Robert Heck served as Master of Ceremonies. The fifth graders upheld their winning title, beating these local leaders! Last year BCP students bested Dr. Alonso, Comedian Mickey Cucchiella, Houston Texans Wide Receiver Bryant Johnson and Baltimore City Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.

The four BCP charter schools -- City Springs Elementary/Middle School, Collington Square School of the Arts, Hampstead Hill Academy and Wolfe Street Academy -- all implement Direct Instruction (DI) programs schoolwide with NIFDI support. City Springs has had particularly remarkable success working with NIFDI to maximize student performance with DI. Learn about City Spring's success with DI here.

See video footage of this remarkable event here.