- Education
Maryland public school students are approaching their summer vacations, but some school officials won’t get the same break, as they continue plugging away on the state’s huge education reform plan.
School officials from the state’s 24 districts filed updated documents last month detailing their progress on, and problems with, the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future.
The latest filings are a follow-up to brief March reports, of a dozen pages or fewer, in which school officials responded to at least five questions and prompts from the state on the top challenges they are facing implementing the Blueprint. Those documents and the ones filed last month are on the website of the Blueprint’s Accountability and Implementation Board (AIB).
School officials in the latest reports cited progress, but they also said they still face challenges that range from funding, to meeting diversity goals and implementing full-day prekindergarten, among others.
Many were like Harford County Superintendent Sean Bulson, a Blueprint supporter who acknowledges challenges.
In a recent interview, Bulson said the Blueprint has helped his district in several areas such as higher pre-K enrollment, youth apprenticeships and high school students taking courses at a community college, a program called dual enrollment.
But while schools receive state funding and additional resources as part of the Blueprint, Bulson and other school and county leaders have expressed concerns over a need for funding and a lack of flexibility in implementation of the plan.
For instance, Bulson said certain funding requirements could cause cuts to specialty programs and elective courses such as art and physical education.
He said one bright spot, however, has been collaboration with the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), particularly Superintendent Carey Wright.
“In the last few months, we’ve seen that begin for the first time. I’m very encouraged by Dr. Wright’s work,” Bulson said. “But they [state officials] have to stay on track with that because we can do great things with this Blueprint.”
Wright said in a recent interview that she held a four-day meeting to review all 24 school district Blueprint documents, along with state education officials, local school leaders and officials with the AIB, the independent unit that oversees and approves all Blueprint plans.
The reports from each school district are based on the Blueprint’s five priorities: early childhood education,hiring and retaining high-quality and diverse teachers,preparing students for college and technical careers,providing additional resources for students in needand governance and accountability.
Wright said her staff will compile data and other information into one document including some of the challenges cited by local schools and present that reportto the state Board of Education. In addition, she said state officials will provide feedback to school officials.
“It informs us if is there something else we could be doing to help facilitate that implementation. That gives us a better idea of what’s happening across the state,” Wright said.
“I think that everybody is invested in the Blueprint. I think that everybody’s trying to do the very, very best that they can to help children learn,” she said.
Roll over the map, or look to the text below, to find a sampling of responses in the Blueprint documents from all 24 school districts.
“The latest New Permanent Staff Data shows no progression in diversifying leadership roles, with 98% of new staff members for the 2023-2024 school year being white, marking an increase compared to the previous two years. ACPS (Allegany County Public Schools) intends to reverse this trend by increasing marketing efforts, collaborating with organizations such as DIVERSITY in Ed, and maintaining strong partnerships with institutions of higher education such as Frostburg State University. Despite having the aforementioned strategies in place, ACPS must also consider the potential impact and resulting challenges that the Career Ladder could pose on the system’s ability to recruit and retain aspiring leaders.”
“We have seen an increase in the total number of applicants applying to positions in our county from 12,206 in the 2022-2023 hiring season to 13,744 in 2023-2024. AACPS (Anne Arundel County Public Schools) continues to use numerous strategies to recruit educators that reflect the diversity of our student population. AACPS recruiters completed 70 recruitment trips this hiring session, 20% of which were diversity-focused events at:
- Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs);
- Hispanic Serving Institutions;
- community events; and
- two hiring events in Puerto Rico focusing on recruiting bilingual educators to support our growing English Learner (EL) population.”
“Providing specialized services and supports to students with disabilities is an area where historic inequities and underfunding have acutely impacted City Schools. While the Blueprint is bringing much needed increases in dedicated funding for special education, we will not reach full funding until 2033, and costs will continue to far exceed dedicated revenue for many years. Projected special education costs for FY25 (fiscal year) to provide City Schools’ students with disabilities with all the services to which they are entitled and deserve are around $300 million, while dedicated funding is expected to be only about $125 million.”
“Teacher certifications at the elementary level do not typically require training in mathematics. This creates significant challenges for teachers (particularly in the intermediate Grades 3–5) as they plan for and execute mathematically sound lessons grounded in the rigor of the content and practice standards. To address, BCPS (Baltimore County Public Schools) plans to include a focus around Common Core domain specific capacity building of school-based math teams through intentional Professional Learning Communities; implementation of an ongoing strand of professional learning around content development for targeted standards, the Major Work of the Grade & Required Fluency standards for Grades 3, 4, and 5.”
“As the Career Ladder is finalized and we define the characteristics (e.g., roles, responsibilities, and key attributes) of leaders across the system (including teachers), current and to-be-developed professional learning opportunities will support professionals to move through the teacher and leadership levels. Leadership development begins with hiring and recruitment (as described in the question); however, our focus is on building leaders within our system – to build an internal pipeline of leaders – rather than relying on recruitment of leaders from outside. Our strategies … include partnering with IHEs (Institutes of Higher Education), professional learning through a Next Level Leadership Academy, mentoring and leadership development, and leveraging the career ladder leadership tracks.”
“CCPS (Caroline County Public Schools) has 7 out of 22 instructional assistant positions that meet the Blueprint requirement based on their associate degree or higher. There are 6 out of 22 instructional assistants enrolled in the CDA (Child Development Associate) cohort. These assistants should earn the endorsem*nt by the end of the 23-24 school year. Overall, CCPS continues to face the barrier of finding certified staff or current staff that are willing and want to pursue a higher degree or CDA credential. CCPS mitigates challenges by attending more recruitment events at institutes of higher education including additional states.”
“While there has been growth in the percentage of CCPS (Carroll County Public Schools) minority teachers since 2018, a drop from October 2022 to October 2023 (4.9% to 3.4%) was reported in the October 2023 MSDE Professional Staff by Assignment, Race/Ethnicity and Gender report. The hiring of minority teachers continues to be extremely competitive due to the shortage of certificated applicants in Maryland and across the United States. All applicants for CCPS teaching positions must first and foremost provide documentation that they are eligible for Maryland teacher certification to move forward in the hiring process.”
“Funding is a concern as we have only one elementary coach for our 17 schools and zero secondary coaches or specialists to facilitate PD (professional development). Overall, there is still no formal way for CCPS (Cecil County Public Schools) to assess a teacher’s training needs. In the 2024-2025 school year, CCPS will implement a new platform to capture professional learning opportunities. One solution for the 2024-2025 school year is to repurpose our current ‘lead teachers’ to provide PD once per month at the secondary level. The PD will be on techniques for analyzing student work in a manner that leads to better use of real-time formative data to guide instruction.”
“With the Southern Maryland Summit: Teacher Preparation Pipeline held less than a week prior to the deadline of the May 2024 Blueprint submission, CCPS (Charles County Public Schools) has already started its planning to help address the teacher shortage in the district. CCPS is also looking into pathways for educators to become licensed through new pathways established by MSDE including approved alternative programs and in-district training. CCPS is also working with Calvert and St. Mary’s to create these programs together, recognizing that the collective work of the three districts could result in sustainable change and supports leading to less workforce shortages.”
“We did see an increase of 3.04% in our minority professional staff. We increased our recruitment fairs to include areas as far as Mississippi. Our strategy to include a more diverse group of recruiters has paid off as we have been able to offer on-the-spot interviews and contracts for the first time. Our number of conditional teachers has decreased from 60 to 46. This is due to an aggressive approach towards meeting twice a year with these staff to monitor their efforts’ progress towards certification and/or licensure. As we acquire certified teachers, these conditional positions will be replaced, especially ones that are not making progress towards their certification.”
“Another ongoing challenge is refining eligibility for accessing the DE (dual enrollment) pathway, as there is currently an incongruence in what FCC (Frederick Community College) requires and the state CCR (college and career readiness) standard. As it currently stands, some students can be eligible for credit-bearing courses at FCC without having met the CCR standard (e.g., course grades in English or math). While FCPS intends to continue allowing access to as many students as possible, funding restraints require a closer examination of when students are able to take advantage of dual enrollment opportunities.”
“GCPS (Garrett County Public Schools) places high value on ensuring a quality administrative workforce. To meet the minimum teaching salary of $60,000 on July 1, 2026, GCPS has committed to providing a 15% increase in salary for teachers over the next three years. The GCPS Board of Education made this same commitment for the administrator unit. This is a substantial local investment that elevates the importance of quality administrators. GCPS feels that this investment will allow GCPS to remain competitive locally and ensure quality candidate pools for administrative positions.”
“HCPS (Harford County Public Schools) has a two-year plan to transition all half-day Pre-K programs to full day by 2025-2026. The Early Childhood Office worked with Facilities to assess space in each elementary school. Five of eleven half-day programs have already become full day without reducing student numbers, doubling classroom spaces. Three more programs will expand in 2024-2025, and the final three by 2025-2026. Initial funding comes from the FY 2024 local Capital Improvement Programs (CIP). Projects include adding bathrooms, modifying playgrounds, and using temporary learning cottages (portable classrooms). Schools facing space challenges are evaluating adjacent sites for expansion.”
“HCPSS (Howard County Public School System) Teacher Academy of Maryland (TAM) educators are in the process of being trained to implement Child Development Associate (CDA) course offerings. HCPSS has added CDA as an alternate pathway within the TAM Program of Study and it will be offered starting with SY24-25. This pathway increases the early education pipeline for future educators who may wish to work as paraprofessionals in public and private Pre-K programs. Current HCPSS paraprofessionals who wish to pursue an AA (Associate in Arts) are eligible for reimbursem*nt of up to 24 credits at higher education institutions, including Howard Community College.”
“KCPS (Kent County Public Schools) is committed not only to minimizing the disparity between students and teachers of diverse backgrounds but also to ensuring that school leaders represent the diversity of the student body. The MSDE data file demonstrates that over the last three years, the percentage of Black school administrators increased by 9.7% while the percentage of Hispanic school administrators decreased by 12.5%. The percentage of white school administrators has remained fairly constant, increasing by 2.8% over the past three years. Through its partnership with BSU (Bowie State University), 14 KCPS staff members are pursuing their doctorate degree in Educational Leadership through the BSU doctoral cohort.”
“Some challenges MCPS (Montgomery County Public Schools) continues to face in serving children with disabilities include:
- Lack of highly qualified staff;
- Specialized transportation needs; and
- Availability of classroom space throughout the county.
MCPS is committed to providing professional learning and job-embedded coaching to support staff in serving our students receiving special education services. Two curriculum coaches use a support model that provides group and individual coaching for new teachers. In addition, MCPS convenes a new special educator professional learning community, quarterly, to provide additional professional learning on topics related to implementation of specially designed instruction.”
“An insufficient pool of qualified teachers, specifically Hispanic/Latino teacher candidates, continues to be a challenge for PGCPS (Prince George’s County Public Schools). Based on the PGCPS Blueprint Implementation Plan submission in March 2023, below are adjustments made to a few of the district’s current strategies to mitigate challenges and to ensure continued progress:
- Transition from virtual to in-person college recruitment fairs, which host Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) to identify and recruit a potential untapped pool of Hispanic/Latino student teachers.
- Change of subscription from National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE) to the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) in order to reach a larger candidate pool.”
“QACPS (Queen Anne’s County Public Schools) offers opportunities for the private partner to participate in all professional development offered by the district. However, attending the professional development is challenging for private providers as they do not have extra staff available to cover the care of children while they attend. The strategies to be continued in School Year 2024-2025 in order to increase the number of private partners to reach the Blueprint expectation include private providers will be invited to observe a pre-k classroom(s) to view how instruction is delivered and how the classrooms are physically arranged to support the Accreditation Standards.”
“One of the major challenges SMCPS (St. Mary’s County Public Schools) has faced is the change of guidance provided by MSDE regarding the requirements of the comprehensive literacy plan. Two committee meetings were canceled as SMCPS waited for MSDE to provide feedback and share the rubric that would be used to evaluate our district’s plan. While the guidance has helped us clarify our mission and goals in writing the comprehensive literacy plan, the delay/timing of the new requirements caused frustration amongst committee members and district staff. It also increased the scope of the project and will require more time than originally planned. To mitigate this challenge, our timeline for completing the comprehensive plan has been adjusted.”
“For the past two years we have been unsuccessful in hiring an intervention teacher at one of the high schools and at the middle school. Beyond financial and scheduling difficulties, the underlying issue is the lack of teachers with the mathematical and pedagogical knowledge to teach math. Without someone skilled and knowledgeable in mathematics the student can become even more confused. This has been a challenge in providing intervention for students who are struggling. This year at the high school which does not have an intervention teacher, teachers in 8th grade, Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra 2 have been trying to incorporate intervention within their courses, which has not been very successful …”
“For FY 2025, the most significant challenge we face in implementing the necessary pay increase is a small per-pupil increase coupled with declining enrollment, which will reduce our FY 2025 Foundation Aid funding by $11,981. Thus, we do not project having additional Blueprint funding to pay for the mandated Blueprint salary increases. This coincides with the fiscal cliff (loss of COVID relief funding) which has supported many needs, including technology and coaching/mental health positions, that are now competing for resources in our FY 2025 budget along with the unfunded salary increase.”
“WCPS (Washington County Public Schools) and Hagerstown Community College (HCC) have developed a robust partnership focused on enhancing dual enrollment opportunities for students. Challenges within the partnership include addressing the needs of students who are not CCR, inconsistent messaging, and lack of established protocols. For example, systems lack guidelines on integrating students who do not meet the MCAP (Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program) or 3.0 GPA criteria into the dual enrollment program. To tackle these issues, WCPS has instituted an MTSS (multi-tiered system of support) support plan for students who are not CCR. To improve timely communication between stakeholders, WCPS and HCC are creating parent/student handbooks and adding additional information to both websites to ensure clarity and accessibility.”
“The expansion of transportation options represents a significant step forward in enhancing student access to Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs, particularly those not available at all comprehensive high schools. Notably, efforts will focus on facilitating access to programs like Interactive Media Production, currently offered at only one school site. However, amidst this progress, a notable obstacle arises: the need to develop systems to support students who are not currently enrolled in CTE programs in accessing apprenticeship opportunities. This challenge will be addressed through collaboration with school-based career coaches, who play a pivotal role in guiding students towards career pathways.”
“WCPS (Worcester County Public Schools) still faces challenges in forming a highly collaborative relationship with local childcare providers, due to low participation in professional development programs. Although WCPS has positive two-way communication practices in place, professional development opportunities offered by the public school are still not within reach for childcare partners. WCPS continues to offer training related to shared curriculum on weekends, evenings, and even independently paced, but lack high participation levels from childcare providers. To address this challenge, the Early Childhood Coordinator (ECC) is designing a survey to identify barriers to attendance, with results intended to inform future training opportunities. This survey will be distributed by the end of FY24, and the data obtained will be used to plan FY25 opportunities.”
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