Education & Classes in Baltimore

The team of certified health coaches at Baltimore Health Coach cultivates a healthy community focused on sustainable foods and commitment to self-care. Two-hour workshops empower clients to make positive, informed choices at mealtime by replacing dietary myths and detrimental noshing with nutritional savvy and a holster full of carrots. "Sugar Mama" Richele Henry leads a September women's workshop geared toward overcoming cravings, and the All-Day Energy seminar in October identifies nutrient-rich super foods and exposes four insidious drains on vitality. Additionally, a 14-day pass to the Maryland Athletic Club comes with any workshop.

A.T.C. Flight Training Center has guided fledgling pilots through the skies with FAA-certified instruction since 1991, emphasizing good judgment, quick decision making, and practical skill. With approval from the Secret Service and FBI, and permission slips signed by their mothers, the seasoned instructors teach their flight courses in an airborne classroom high above the Potomac River. They lay out a clear path for students to earn FAA private-pilot certification through classroom lectures, hands-on flight instruction, and the Jeppesen ground and flight syllabus. Flight lessons aboard the center's two Cessna 172 planes cover basic flight techniques, such as fending off territorial weather balloons, before moving on to jaunts to other airports, night flying, and more advanced skills.

Already experienced pilots can instead embark on leisurely trips in a Cessna 182, outfitted with GPS navigation and autopilot. At the center's shop, staffers further outfit pilots with headsets, charts, and approach plates, as well as ASA training materials, aviation books, and films about flight.

Influenced by her upbringing in Sierra Leone—where the food culture emphasizes local, artisanal ingredients shared by neighbors—Jeanette Warne guides small groups of adults, teens, and kids in themed cooking classes geared toward age group. In how to-style classes, budding chefs learn such fundamentals as how to cook with wine, how to prepare classic French dishes, or how to tell the difference between a baguette and a baseball bat. The class lineup also covers specializations, such as pastry-chef techniques and cooking for specific dietary needs. Courses typically yield 3–4 dishes.

Warne also lends her expertise to party planners by catering international-themed feasts that feature passed hors d'oeuvres, Mediterranean dinners, and eclectic four-course buffets. The company maintains environmentalist practices, not only through sourcing ingredients locally, but also by buying biodegradable flatware and minimizing the use of single-use paper airplanes that carry food to diners' plates.

At Annapolis Sailing School, the instructors prefer hands-on teaching to traditional textbook methods. They’ve developed this approach ever since their first lesson in 1959, when the school opened. Many lessons later, the staff continues to introduce novice sailors to the sea aboard their fleet of vessels, which includes a rainbow sailboat and a cruiser. From the get-go, students are encouraged to man the jib and barter with Poseidon over the choicest sailing routes. In addition to these private and group sailing lessons, the staff also rents out sailboats and offers a certification program that adheres to the American Sailing Association’s program.

Licensed massage therapist and founder Janine Cormier Fleming designed Holistic Massage Training Institute's 600-hour program in an effort to educate aspiring massage therapists. After 9 or 12 months, the program qualifies students to sit for certification exams, which can open the door to an occupation such as licensed massage therapist or registered massage practitioner. Supplementing the standard program, community seminars show pupils how to administer couples' massages along with specialized techniques such as acupressure and reflexology. Yoga classes unwind student tensions in unison, and continuing-education courses illustrate bodywork techniques from India, Thailand, Hawaii, and Narnia.

Begun as a sailing club founded by cruising sailors, The Sailing Academy harnesses the wind to explore new destinations rather than for racing or other high-speed maneuvers. Seasoned instructors use an on-water coaching method, eschewing copious dry-land classroom time because they know that the best way for students to learn how to parallel park a yacht is by doing it. They helm beginner through advanced courses in general sailing and more specialized courses in coastal navigation, coastal cruising, and bareboat chartering. Aboard their fleet's vessels, which include a Catalina and a Jeanneau, they also take small groups out for charters in local waters. Their location on the bay south of Annapolis enables captains and students to sail free from the confines of crowded city harbors and maneuver more freely. Though the academy doesn't rent out its boats, students can charter a boat for a day, and club members earn regular vessel access.