Graduate, 2007, Social Work and Africana Studies minor

A McNair Scholar at UMBC, Durell is interested in urban education, urban youth and minorities. In his senior year at UMBC, Durell had his research on “Predictors of Success among African American Adolescents in an Urban Charter School ” published in the UMBC Review: Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Works. Durell will continue to graduate school, focusing on reforming policy that would be the most beneficial to urban populations and specifically regarding education, whether it be through a non-profit agency like Upward Bound, or through a local school board.

"My name is Durell Callier, and during my first year as a Sondheim Public Affairs Scholar I did community service at the Baltimore Algebra Project (BAP). First I would like to tell you a little history about the Baltimore Algebra Project (BAP). BAP began in Baltimore in 1999 in the basement of our director, Jay Gillen, with just a handful of people, where peers mentored on a one-to-one basis. Currently BAP serves 4 middle schools and 4 high schools in the Baltimore Metropolitan area. The success of the program is largely due to the one-to-one peer mentoring that BAP works so diligently in trying to provide.

The Baltimore Algebra Project is part of a national organization known as the Algebra Project, which was founded as a continuation of the Civil Rights movement by Robert Moses. Robert Moses, also known as Bob Moses, felt that in order to help African-American's further succeed, they must become proficient in math. At the time Bob was concerned with the math that was offered at his daughter's school; he felt as if the teachers were apathetic and lowered standards because the children there came from socio-economically disadvantaged homes and because teachers believed that they could not achieve like their white counterparts. Bob sought to challenge this notion and so he set up the Algebra Project, whose goal is to increase math literacy among minorities.

Throughout the years the Baltimore Algebra Project has expanded to various places around the city, and because the members of BAP have a vested interest in education they have also become involved in trying to improve education for the students of Baltimore City. Raising math literacy among minorities is the primary goal of BAP. However, due to the budget crisis that the Baltimore City Public School System (BCPSS) has been facing, BAP decided to advocate for the education of BCPSS students. BAP became familiar with the bureaucracy that occurs at BCPSS, as well as some key political figures.

BAP has lobbied that education with in Baltimore City be adequately funded, and that the court order of Bradford V. Maryland State Board of Education be upheld. My service at BAP was truly fulfilling, as well as a learning process."

Along with working as President of BAP, Durell worked in the Summer of 2004 with Upward Bound at UMBC, as an residential advisor during the summer program, tutoring and mentoring high school students to help ensure they graduate from college. Durell was also a member of the Gospel Choir, Black Student Union, Freedom Alliance, and the Youth and Young Adult Ministry.