After dismissal at Fallstaff Elementary School in northwest Baltimore Friday, fifth-graders Shawnte Blackstone and Aleisha Holden met with some teenagers for an informal, girls-only chat and then practiced layups together and shot baskets in the gym.

At the same time, other high schoolers worked with Fallstaff students on their modern dance moves across the cafeteria floor, and third-graders Isamar Espino, Rodrigo Bermudez and Marlon Morales put the finishing touches on a large city mural in the auditorium with direction from some male volunteers.