Understanding the moment
you are walking into —
and why it matters.
When you sit on a Passage Portfolio Presentation panel, you are not simply watching a student give a report. You are witnessing a young woman stand in front of her community and say: This is who I am. This is what I have learned. This is who I am becoming.
This Is Not an Ordinary School Event
For the scholars at Lillie May Carroll Jackson Charter School, the PPP is the single most important academic moment of their middle school career. It is the culmination of years of work, reflection, revision, and growth. Some of these young women have been preparing for this moment since 5th grade. By the time they stand before you, they have practiced presenting at student-led conferences three times a year, built a portfolio website of their best work, and written deeply personal reflections about their academic and character development.
This is their passage. And you are part of it.
“The PPP gives our scholars a real audience and a meaningful moment to reflect on who they are becoming. Your presence on the panel tells each girl that her community believes in her.”
— Lillie May Carroll Jackson Charter School
In Their Own Words
Nobody can explain what a PPP feels like better than the scholars who have lived it. Watch this video to hear directly from LMCJ scholars about the process, the preparation, and what it meant to stand before their community and present their best work. This is the moment in their own words.
About Lillie May Carroll Jackson Charter School
Lillie May Carroll Jackson Charter School is an all-girls public charter school in Baltimore, Maryland, serving scholars in grades 5 through 8. The school is named after Lillie May Carroll Jackson, a legendary Baltimore civil rights activist who led the local NAACP for over 35 years and was known as “the mother of freedom.”
LMCJ’s mission is to educate the whole girl — academics, yes, but also character, habits of mind, perseverance, active citizenship, and the confidence to stand tall in any room. The school partners with EL Education (formerly Expeditionary Learning), a nationally recognized model for deeper learning that emphasizes student-led work, high-quality craftsmanship, and community engagement.
Members of LMCJ’s first graduating class, the Jaguars of 2018, are now graduating from college. The school’s graduates go on to attend competitive high schools and universities across the country.
What LMCJ Alumni Say
When asked what they took away from LMCJ, here is what alumni shared:
“The sense of sisterhood and the confidence to believe in myself.”
LMCJ Alumna
“Perseverance, responsibility, and always having a growth mindset!”
LMCJ Alumna
“Project-based learning helped prepare me for high school — speaking in front of a crowd and being able to articulate what I learned.”
LMCJ Alumna
“Always stay true to myself and speak up for myself. Being a woman in a predominantly male work environment can be hard, but as long as I stay grounded, I can do anything.”
LMCJ Alumna
“The independence and freedom at LMCJ allowed me to flourish and pick up problem-solving and critical thinking abilities that helped me adapt to a school with close to 1,000 students.”
LMCJ Alumna
“Everything! Life lessons! Hardships! I’ve learned to become a beautiful young woman!”
LMCJ Alumna
This is what your panelist feedback contributes to. You are part of a tradition that shapes how these young women see themselves and their futures.
The Scholar’s Journey to PPP
The PPP does not happen overnight. It is the result of a multi-year journey that builds a scholar’s confidence, reflection skills, and sense of ownership over her own learning.
5th & 6th Grade
Scholars begin presenting student-led conferences (SLCs) three times per year, learning to reflect on their work and speak to an audience of adults. On day one of 5th grade, every scholar receives a lily from an older student in the Lillie Seeds Ceremony — and watches a PPP for the first time. The message is clear: this is what you are working toward.
7th Grade
SLCs deepen in complexity. Scholars practice revision, self-assessment, and goal-setting. They begin to see the arc of their own growth. Career Day brings 50+ Baltimore professionals to LMCJ — with intentional focus on women in leadership. Scholars write thank-you notes in crew. These relationships seed the community that shows up for PPPs.
8th Grade — PPP Year
Starting in January, scholars build their portfolio website, write narrative reflections for each content area, gather artifacts from across their time at LMCJ, and meet weekly deadlines through late April. Mock interviews in the fall give them their first experience presenting to an authentic outside audience. By the time a scholar stands before you, she has spent months curating her best work, writing and revising reflections, and rehearsing her presentation.
This is not a rushed assignment. It is the work of her middle school life.
What Scholars Are Working Toward
Through the PPP process, scholars develop and demonstrate skills that go far beyond any single classroom.
Presentation Skills
Time Management
Reflection on Growth
Goal Setting
Revision & Craftsmanship
High-Quality Work
Managing a Large Project
Sense of Accomplishment
Proving Readiness to Herself
The most important thing on that list is the last one. The PPP is not about proving readiness to the school or to a panel of adults. It is about each scholar proving to herself that she is ready. Your role as a panelist is to honor that moment and to affirm her through your attention, your questions, and your feedback.
Your Role: A Panelist Guide
As a panelist, you are not a judge. You are a witness, a supporter, and a provider of kind, honest, specific feedback. Here is what that looks like in practice.
Before the Presentation
We will share the scholar’s portfolio website with you ahead of time. Spend 15 to 20 minutes browsing her work and reflections. Notice what stands out. Come with curiosity.
During the Presentation
Listen actively. The scholar will walk you through her portfolio, sharing her reflections, academic work, and growth. Take notes. Pay attention not just to what she says, but to how she carries herself.
Asking Questions
Your questions help the scholar go deeper. Ask questions that draw out more detail, invite reflection, or help her articulate something she may be struggling to express. Good questions come from genuine curiosity, not from testing.
Providing Feedback
You will use one of three rubrics to evaluate the scholar. Your feedback should be kind, specific, and helpful. Tell her exactly what you noticed. Name the strengths. Offer one area for growth in a way that empowers rather than discourages.
📚 Academic Rubric
Evaluates the scholar’s demonstration of content knowledge, quality of artifacts, and depth of academic reflection.
💜 Character Rubric
Evaluates the scholar’s growth in LMCJ’s Habits of Mind — perseverance, integrity, collaboration, active citizenship, responsibility, and inquiry.
🎤 Presentation Rubric
Evaluates the scholar’s public speaking, organization, poise, use of time, and ability to respond to questions.
Why This Matters
For many of our scholars, this is the first time in their lives that a group of adults outside their family sits down, gives them their full attention, and listens to them present their best work. That experience is transformative.
The PPP teaches our scholars that their voice matters. That their growth is worth celebrating. That the adults in their community care enough to show up, sit down, and truly listen. When you sign up to be a panelist, you are not just filling a seat. You are telling a young woman: I see you. I hear you. I believe in you.
Many of our panelists come back year after year. They tell us it is one of the most meaningful volunteer experiences they have ever had. We hope you will feel the same.
Leaders of Their Own Learning
LMCJ’s partnership with EL Education is the intellectual foundation for everything you will witness on PPP Day. EL Education’s Passage Presentations model positions students as the leaders of their own learning — not passive recipients of it. Scholars reflect, curate, present, and defend. By the time they stand before a panel, they have taken full ownership of their own educational story.
The excerpt below explains the research and philosophy behind passage presentations — the foundational text that shaped how LMCJ builds this process.
What this means for our scholars
Authentic audience
The work scholars do at LMCJ has always had a real audience. PPPs make that audience explicit, formal, and celebratory — community members who have chosen to show up and bear witness.
Student-led reflection
Scholars do not just present work — they reflect on it. They explain their growth, acknowledge their struggles, and connect their learning to who they are becoming. This metacognition is a skill they carry for life.
High expectations for all
Every 8th grade scholar at LMCJ completes a PPP. The standard is the same for everyone. The scaffolding that helps each scholar reach it is differentiated — but the moment of standing before a community and being celebrated is universal.
Ready to show up for a scholar?
Sign up to serve as a panelist on April 24 or May 6. One hour of your time. A moment she will never forget.
