Ida Malloy Champions Civic Engagement and Authentic Service at Baldwin

At The Baldwin School, civic engagement is more than just a checkbox — it's a core part of the student experience, thanks in large part to Ida Malloy, Grade 9 Dean and Coordinator of Civic Engagement. With a passion rooted in education and activism, Ida is helping Baldwin students move beyond surface-level service to develop meaningful, sustained relationships with the communities they serve.

 

“I don’t teach a traditional class,” Ida explains, “but I advise Service League in both Middle and Upper School, as well as all the service clubs at Baldwin — KIVA, Starfish and Cradles to Crayons. What I love most is helping students understand what it truly means to serve, engage and create change.” Malloy, who holds degrees from La Salle University and Richard Stockton University, sees service not just as action, but as an opportunity for personal growth and connection.

 

Among her proudest accomplishments is the launch of the Kit Reath Fellowship, a selective program for Upper School students in Grades 10-12 who wish to take a deeper dive into social impact projects. “This fellowship challenges students to give from a place of authenticity,” says Ida. “It’s not about earning hours — it’s about committing to something meaningful without expecting recognition. That’s where real service begins.”

 

The Kit Reath Fellowship is named after Karin “Kit” Reath, a former librarian at the Baldwin School. During her 30 years at Baldwin, Kit co-founded and led the Multicultural Resource Center and hosted workshops for teachers and educators. The fellowship reflects Kit’s values of justice, inclusion and community-building. Fellows must demonstrate Baldwin’s core values — learning, respect, responsibility, compassion and honesty — and commit to at least 40 hours of independent service work. Fellows also must attend semi-monthly meetings, establish a mentor-mentee relationship with a person at the organization affiliated with their project and demonstrate progress through Capstone Project at the end of the school year. “I hope this changes the way our students experience engagement,” Ida says. “It’s not just what you give — it’s what you learn and how you show up.”

 

Another standout initiative is Folk Night, started by alumna Zoe Levine ’24. Inspired by her studies on deep poverty in Philadelphia, Zoe helped organize the biannual event to raise awareness and funds, exemplifying how Baldwin students can turn classroom learning into real-world impact. “That’s the intersection where civic engagement thrives — when students are empowered to respond to what they’re learning in meaningful ways,” Ida shares.

 

Ida’s leadership has also fostered long-term partnerships, such as Baldwin’s relationship with the Impact Center (now part of the Tiger Woods Educational Foundation). Through this collaboration, students like Shifa Sayeed ’25, Meg South ’25 and Kate Ma ’26 have spent hundreds of hours supporting young people who are in need of academic support with tutoring and activities. “Their dedication shows the power of sustained commitment,” Ida noted.

 

When asked how service projects connect to Baldwin’s curriculum and the School’s overall mission, Ida notes that many teachers have taken full advantage of connecting service to their curriculum. “This year in Lower School, the community has collected books for students in marginalized communities, held two clothing drives for young people experiencing clothing insecurity and made potted plants for veterans,” she explains. “In the Upper School, English Teacher Dr. Erika Jo Brown always finds a way to connect at least one of her units to service. This year, after reading a book about a person who had cancer, students made reusable shopping bags and filled them with a book, lip balm and a pack of tissues. The bags were then given to people undergoing chemotherapy.”   

 

For students unsure of how to get started, Ida offers a simple but powerful framework: “I always ask them three questions — what’s important to you, what are you willing to commit to and how can you make your work sustainable?” Her advice is clear: service should be guided by passion, not pressure.

 

With Ida’s guidance, civic engagement at Baldwin continues to evolve into a transformative experience. “Service is where the classroom meets the real world,” she said. “And our students are showing up — ready to learn, ready to lead and ready to make a difference.”