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Nonprofit’s report calls for broad-based approach to improving reading scores

April 16, 2025 by Maryland Matters Leave a Comment

Alice Tickler tries to stay positive when it comes to educating young children, but the longtime teacher admits there are some things that can make it hard — and it’s not anything the students do.

Things like the legislature’s failure to fund a training program, specifically for reading and math teachers. As a teacher for 28 years, she’s seen the benefits of what educators call a “coaching program.”

“Seeing other teachers in action, having a mentor teacher that knows how to teach reading alongside of you or coaching you, that’s huge,” said Tickler, a first-grade teacher in Queen Anne’s County public schools. “That coaching model would really benefit teachers.”

Tickler’s comments echo recommendations in a report being released Tuesday morning by Maryland READS, a nonprofit focused on the improvement of reading instruction. Providing consistent funding for teachers is just one of the recommendations in “The State of Reading in Maryland 2025: It’s Time for a Comeback after a Decade of Decline.”

While the General Assembly approved the Excellence in Maryland Public Schools Act last week without funding for a training program, it did approve funding for a national teacher recruitment campaign and a $2,000 relocation grant to “incentivize an out-of-state licensed teacher to move to the state.”

The report’s not all about funding, however, and acknowledges the state’s financial difficulties. Similar to a report produced last year, Tuesday’s document outlines recommendations to improve literacy, such as businesses providing employees time to serve as local tutors, and state and local leaders organizing town halls on digital education for families.

Because of the state’s fiscal challenges, the report suggests philanthropists provide financial and other resources to help create “thriving, reading ecosystems.”

According to the report, per pupil spending increased by 37% since 2013 through last year. During that time, National Assessment of Educational Progress math scores have constantly declined.

“Everything the state has done to put a system of support in place … gives us hope,” Trish Brennan-Gac, executive director of Maryland READS, said in an interview. “But I think the legislature needs to get on board a little bit more and trust her [State Superintendent Carey Wright] leadership because she has a proven track record, and I don’t think they did that this time around.”

‘Make sure children can read’

Tuesday’s document notes a report last year from the National Council on Teacher Quality. It gave Maryland and 19 other states an overall “moderate” rating on teacher training programs based on five policy actions to strengthen implementation of the “science of reading,” which Wright utilized as public schools leader in Mississippi and pushed to incorporate in Maryland.

The council gave three ratings – strong, moderate and weak – not only for the total assessment of training programs, but also separate reviews of each policy action. On the policy statement, “Reviews teacher-preparation programs to ensure they teach the Science of Reading,” Maryland received a “weak” rating.

Maryland READS recommends the state Department of Education “should immediately exercise authority, including limiting grants and contracts, and hold Maryland teacher preparation programs accountable for aligning to Science of Reading by 2028.”

According to the report, what will help teachers with literacy instruction is an agreement the department made last year to implement a four-year, $6.8 million grant from the nonprofit Ibis Group of Washington, D.C.

About $5.3 million of that grant will be used for free online training in the science of reading for at least 30,000 paraprofessionals, teachers and other staff. The remaining $1.5 million would be for Johns Hopkins University and the department to research the impact of teacher efficacy, teacher background knowledge and literacy.

But Brennan-Gac said additional and consistent support is needed.

“Having a coach in the classroom actually helps the teacher change their practice,” Brennan-Gac said. “While it’s wonderful that we’ve brought these training programs into the state, [but] if they don’t get the coaching, we’re not really leveraging that wonderful resource we have and this whole movement that we’re doing.”

Some other recommendations from the report to improve literacy include:

Starting July 1, the department should collaborate with educators and organizations to begin work on drafting an adolescent literacy policy;The legislature should tie future funding to data related to proficiency rates at community schools, those that receive high concentration of poverty grants which provide a variety of wraparound and other services; andState, local and community leaders should educate parents and guardians on limiting the use of electronic devices for their children.

“We should do everything that we can to make sure that our children can read,” said Tickler, who serves on a statewide teacher advisory council created by the department this year. “We don’t want our children to enter that pipeline that takes them to jail or drugs. We want our kids to be successful and we want our kids to be literate.”

by William J. Ford, Maryland Matters
April 15, 2025

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: [email protected].

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Maryland faces $418 million ‘catastrophic’ loss in pandemic-era relief funds

April 1, 2025 by Maryland Matters Leave a Comment

The U.S. Department of Education told states Friday that it was canceling previous approvals to spend down remaining COVID-19 recovery funds, a change that could mean $418 million to the Maryland Department of Education.

The change was announced in a letter from U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon that was dated Friday at 5 p.m., and said the decision to cancel the pandemic funding was effective — Friday at 5 p.m.

“Shock does not begin to describe our reaction when we received the notification late Friday evening,” Maryland State Superintendent Carey Wright said Monday. “This jeopardizes over $400 million in funding.”

Wright called the federal agency’s decision “catastrophic,” noting that the money has already been spent or at least committed to the state’s 24 school systems. She said the money is being used for tutoring, reading materials, after-school programming, even some construction projects such as repairs for heating and air conditioning units, among others.

State officials said about $305.2 million has already been spent but not reimbursed by the federal department. Another $112.8 million is in “encumbered” funds not paid out by the state, which means school systems must immediately stop any ongoing work on capital projects, or educational programs.

“It may be a tutoring program that’s going on right now in schools that was intended to go through this school year, or it might be an improvement to a health room in a school,” said state Board of Education President Joshua Michael. “There’s going to be significant disruption.”

Officials said it remains unclear if the state would need to cover costs for ongoing programs, or if the local school systems may have to return any money already spent.

“The federal government is breaking the trust that it has once held strong with states across America,” Michael said.

School officials said they are consulting with the Office of the Attorney General on the possibility of filing suit against the federal department.

“I think it’s fair to say that we are exploring all legal options at this time given the severity of this action,” Michael said.

He said the majority of the money comes from the American Rescue Plan’s Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, or ARP ESSER, program.

The state last year requested and received approval for an extension on how it would draw down the ESSER funds it had left over. Wright said the state sought extensions because of supply chain issues and construction delays.

The approval was given before a Jan. 28 deadline set by former President Joe Biden (D) before he left office that month. But in her letter Friday, McMahon dismissed the approvals by the previous administration.

“The extension approval was issued recently, so any reliance interests developed are minimal,” McMahon wrote. “Moreover, an agency may reconsider its prior decision. So you could not rely on the Department adhering to its original decision. That is especially true because the extension was a matter of administrative grace.”

She said that extending deadlines to allocate “COVID-related grants … years after the COVID pandemic ended is not consistent with the Department’s priorities and thus not a worthwhile exercise of its discretion.”

But McMahon also wrote the department would reconsider funding for states if the could explain “how a particular project’s extension is necessary to mitigate the effects of COVID on American students’ education, and why the Department should exercise its discretion to grant your request.”

Wright said ending the program at 5 p.m. Friday and offering to consider appeals from states “seemed to be contradictory,” but she said her department plans to send a letter to justify why money for Maryland is necessary.

A U.S. department spokesperson said that specific projects would be assessed if funds are used directly to mitigate the effects of COVID-19.

“COVID is over. States and school districts can no longer claim they are spending their emergency pandemic funds on ‘COVID relief’ when there are numerous documented examples of misuse,” said Madi Biedermann in a statement Monday afternoon.

“The Biden Administration established an irresponsible precedent by extending the deadline for spending the COVID money far beyond the intended purpose of the funds, and it is past time for the money to be returned to the people’s bank account,” Biedermann’s statement said.

In part because of the Education Department’s decision, the Maryland Senate approved an amendment to a budget bill Monday that would require the governor’s budget team to track federal cuts and, if they hit $1 billion, recommend state spending cuts to the General Assembly’s Legislative Policy Committee.

“If we have a $1 billion problem from combined actions by the federal government, we would begin a process of review through our policy committee, and work with the governor to come up with solutions,” said Sen. Guy Guzzone (D-Howard), chair of the Budget and Taxation Committee. “We have to be wide-eyed open about what could be happening because it is happening.”

Sen. Chris West (R-Baltimore and Carroll) asked if any recommendations that may come from the policy committee would be for the legislature next year.

“Could very well be,” Guzzone said.

by William J. Ford, Maryland Matters
March 31, 2025

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MD Senate Panel’s vote on Blueprint bill straddles House, Administration Versions

March 22, 2025 by Maryland Matters Leave a Comment

Senate Budget and Taxation Committee voted Friday for amendments to the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future that splits the difference between House and administration versions. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters

A Senate committee advanced parts of Maryland’s sweeping education reform plan Friday, splitting the difference between versions of the bill advanced by the House and the Moore administration and setting up a showdown in the waning days of the legislature.

The Senate Budget and Taxation Committee approved a four-year pause in the start of funding for teacher “collaborative time” — something the administration supports — but also voted to keep funding for community schools — something the House insisted on.

Senate Bill 429 still needs to be taken up by a second Senate panel, the Education, Energy and the Environment Committee, which is scheduled for Monday. That gives lawmakers just two weeks to approve a Senate bill and hammer out differences with the House before the April 7 end of the General Assembly session.

The so-called “Excellence in Maryland Public Schools Act” was sparked by the state’s fiscal crisis and by the repeated call from local school officials for flexibility in the implementation of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, the sweeping 10-year, multibillion-dollar education reform plan.

Gov. Wes Moore introduced a bill that keeps the goals of the plan largely intact, but delays funding and implementation of some portions.

One portion is the proposal for an increase in teacher “collaborative time,” or time that teachers spend on planning, training and working with individual students, as opposed to time in front of a classroom. The Blueprint calls for teachers’ classroom time to be cut from 80% of their day to 60%; the administration bill would delay the start of that for four years, in part because it would require the hiring of at least 12,000 new teachers at a time when the state faces a teacher shortage.

The House rejected that plan, and set collaborative time to begin in 2026. But the Senate went with the governor’s version in what Budget and Taxation Committee Chair Guy Guzzone (D-Howard) called a “pacing” of the initiative.

“Whenever you don’t extend the full amount, if, in fact, you want to get to the full amount, by definition, it has to go out further,” Guzzone told reporters after the committee’s vote.

The committee did agree with the House version and rejected the administration’s call for a two-year freeze on funding for community schools, those located in low-income neighborhoods Sen. President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) has said such a delay would negatively affect students.

The Senate committee also agreed with the House to “hold harmless” funding for multilingual learners, students in poverty and those in special education — exempting those students from any per pupil funding reductions that might come down. The committee on Friday also added students at the Maryland School for the Blind, Maryland School for the Deaf and the SEED School of Maryland.

The committee was more generous than either the House or the administration when it comes to Consortium on Coordinated Community Supports, a part of the Blueprint plan that deals with mental health, behavioral and other wraparound services for students. The House agreed with the governor that it should be cut from $130 million this year to $40 million in fiscal 2026, but senators want to cut the fund to $70 million next year and raise it to $100 million in fiscal 2027 and each year after.

But senators sided with the administration on “foundation” funding, or per pupil spending. Under the Blueprint, it was slated to grow from $8,789 per pupil this year to $9,226 next year, but the administration proposed reducing the growth to $9,063 next year and slowing the pace of growth for several years after. The Senate committee agreed, but the House voted to keep the original Blueprint funding levels.

With an eye toward looming cuts to the federal government, another Senate amendment made Friday would freeze funding increases if federal funds or revenue projections by the state’s Board of Revenues in December decrease by 3.75%.

Senate Majority Leader Nancy King (D-Montgomery), a member of the Budget and Taxation Committee, earlier this week defended delays in Blueprint goals for the time being.

“There’s a lot of good that’s already come out of the Blueprint, and a lot more that is going to come as we go,” King said Tuesday. “I don’t think it would be a bad thing if we just slowed it [collaborative time] down a bit.”

The Senate Education, Energy and the Environment will review, and possibly vote on, the other parts of the bill Monday that deal with teacher programs, initiatives and other incentives before sending it to the full Senate for consideration and then back to the House.

Del. Vanessa Atterbeary (D-Howard), chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, said during a press conference Thursday to announce a framework for the overall fiscal 2026 budget, that negotiations on the Blueprint are ongoing. But Atterbeary said she and Del. Ben Barnes (D-Prince George’s and Anne Arundel), chair of the Appropriations Committee, have made their positions “pretty clear.”

“Where we stand and where the House stands in … protecting those that are most vulnerable, particularly those in community schools,” she said. “So we’ll see what the Senate does, and we’ll link up with them and negotiate that in the days to come.”

By William J. Ford

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House approves Blueprint education bill that rejects most cuts proposed by governor

March 13, 2025 by Maryland Matters Leave a Comment

As expected, the House of Delegates approved an amended, comprehensive education plan Tuesday night that rejected cuts proposed by Gov. Wes Moore (D).

The 100-39 party-line vote sets up a potential showdown with the Senate over the Excellence in Maryland Public Schools Act. Senate leaders have indicated that, in the face of a projected $3 billion deficit for fiscal 2026, they may be more sympathetic to the governor’s version of the bill to amend the state’s multiyear, costly Blueprint for Maryland’s Future.

House Democratic leaders have consistently pushed back against the governor’s plan, saying that any cuts would negatively affect the Blueprint, now in its third year of implementation. But House Ways and Means Committee Chair Vanessa Atterbeary (D-Howard) said after Tuesday night’s floor vote that the House and the governor agree on the goals of the plan, but disagree on how to get there.

“He [Moore] was looking at the Blueprint also as a means to solve budgetary issues, and we did not,” Atterbeary said. “I think in large part we disagreed when it comes to funding. But I think policy wise, we agreed primarily with the governor.”

The debate put House Republicans in the unusual position of defending the governor’s bill against Democratic amendments.

“Didn’t agree with everything in it, but it was a compromise that suggests we can, in future years, account for the realities that we will not have to spend as much we’ll amend, in particular, the collaborative time,” said House Minority Leader Jason Buckel (R-Allegany), before voting against the amended House version of the bill.

“I think that we would have been best served to support Gov. Moore’s bill, rather than the bill as amended currently before the House,” he said.

Three Republicans – Dels. Kevin Hornberger (R-Cecil), Susan K. McComas (R-Harford) and Chris Tomlinson (R-Frederick and Carroll) – who signed on as co-sponsors of the previous version from the governor, asked to have their names removed from the amended bill, which opposed.

Some of the proposals in the original bill included a four-year pause in the phase-in of collaborative time for teachers, a freeze in funding for community schools located in low-income neighborhoods and a lower increase in per pupil funding.

Atterbeary’s committee and the Appropriations Committee amended the governor’s bill to restore funding to community schools and to reduce the four-year delay in collaborative time to a one-year pause to give the state’s 24 school systems time to prepare for a fiscal 2027.

The House did keep language from the governor’s version that would allow for the state Department of Education to establish a national teacher recruitment campaign to start in July and end by July 1, 2029. It also kept a $2,000 relocation grant that would be provided to “incentivize an out-of-state licensed teacher to move to the state,” in an effort to reduce the teacher shortage and the number of conditionally licensed teachers.

Administration officials defended their position during a joint hearing last month, saying it would be impractical to institute the increase in collaborative time next school year because it would require the hiring of at least 12,000 teachers at a time when the state and nation face a teacher shortage.

The administration’s proposal sought to hold community school at current levels for the next two years, instead of allowing it to increase as the Blueprint calls for.

On the House floor Tuesday, a few Republicans said the Blueprint plan is a vehicle the state can’t afford right now.

“If this is the Mercedes of education C class, it feels a little bit more like a Pinto that we’re selling for a Mercedes price,” said Del. Lauren Arikan (R-Harford), who voted against the bill.

Meanwhile, the Senate’s Budget and Taxation Committee — which took part in a joint hearing on the bill last month with the Senate Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee and the two House panels — could vote on the Senate version of the bill this week.

Senate Majority Leader Nancy King (D-Montgomery), a member of the Budget and Taxation Committee, has said she supports a pause in collaborative time, especially with the teacher shortage in the state. And Sen. Mary Beth Carozza (R-Lower Shore), a member of the “Triple-E” Committee, has said the Blueprint needs some restructuring that provides more autonomy to local school systems.

Del. Ben Barnes (D-Prince George’s and Anne Arundel), who chairs the Appropriations Committee, told reporters Tuesday night he’s confident the two chambers will find a solution.

“I think it’s because we all share the same values. We want to certainly protect these kids and make sure the funding is there and the policies are there,” he said. “We’ll get to a compromise in the end.”

by William J. Ford, Maryland Matters
March 11, 2025

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High Priority: KCPS seeking community support for HB0736

February 6, 2025 by Kent County Public Schools Leave a Comment

Kent County Public Schools is asking everyone to support its efforts to seek more money from the state to build a new Kent County Middle School.

There is a bill being heard in the Maryland General Assembly that would do this and KCPS needs the community’s help getting it passed!

There are three ways you can show your support starting this Friday, Feb. 7.

You can sign onto a form letter KCPS will be submitting to the House Appropriations Committee at the close of business Friday, Feb. 7. KCPS asks for your name, town and email address. Go to: https://tinyurl.com/p44swp65.
You can submit your own letter or a copy of the KCPS form letter between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7 by creating an account through My MGA. Go to https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/ and click the “My MGA” icon at the top right. Click here to download a copy of the KCPS form letter from the school system’s website. Just add your information at the bottom of the letter, save it as a PDF and submit it!
Sign up to provide in-person testimony through the My MGA portal. The hearing is schedule for 1 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11.

Kent County Public Schools thank everyone for being a part of this community effort.

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Governor’s education bill slows growth of per pupil funding, worrying advocates

January 23, 2025 by Maryland Matters Leave a Comment

A comprehensive education bill unveiled Wednesday by the Moore administration would slow the growth of per pupil spending beginning next year and continuing for the next eight years, raising concerns among advocates and lawmakers.

The reductions begin in fiscal 2026, when the per pupil “foundation” funding was scheduled to grow from $8,789 per student to $9,226; the administration’s bill calls for it to grow next year to $9,063 instead, a reduction in growth of $163 per student.

Instead of growing between 4% and 5% a year for the next eight years, the Excellence in Maryland Public Schools Act calls for growth from 2% to 3% in the same period.

From fiscal years 2034 through 2037, the per pupil amount would increase by 3.5% each year, ultimately reaching $13,259 per pupil.

Still, the slow-down in growth represents an estimated $234 million less for state schools than was originally forecast, said Mary Pat Fannon, executive director of the Public School Superintendents’ Association of Maryland. The revised level of funding “is not a historic investment,” she said.

“Funding matters for student achievement,” Fannon said. “We need to advocate and explain that you do need funding in order to get the outcomes that you’re expecting.”

Del. Ben Barnes (D-Prince George’s and Anne Arundel), chair of the Appropriations Committee, said lawmakers are aware of the change in per pupil spending, which he said will likely cause problems in the House.

“That’s something we’re very aware of. I don’t think you’ll see that coming out of the House. Just put it that way,” Barnes said.

When asked to comment on the revised number, a spokesperson for Gov. Wes Moore (D) pointed to a prepared statement released Tuesday, in which the governor was quoted as saying that the state will still work toward the goals of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, the state’s 10-year education reform plan, but that it must do so “while making it fit our current needs and realities in a post-pandemic environment.”

“Through the Excellence in Maryland Public Schools Act, we propose strategic investments designed to lay out the foundation for effective implementation of key components of the Blueprint, including recruiting and supporting educators and building partnerships between schools and communities,” the Tuesday statement said.

The bill, House Bill 504, was just part of the discussion at Wednesday’s briefing on the status of the Blueprint for the House Appropriations and House Ways and Means committees, at a time when the state is struggling with a budget deficit that is projected to be close to $3 billion in fiscal 2026.

Moore has proposed closing that gap with a combination of increased revenues and budget reductions next year, but he and legislative leaders have said the education reform plan is fully funded for the next two years.

One goal of the Blueprint is to increase the teacher pipeline, which is also an element touched on in the administration’s bill.

With more than half of the state’s teachers coming from other states, according to the state Department of Education, one part of the bill calls for an interstate teacher mobility compact, to let Maryland enter into agreements with other states that have comparable licensing standards and accept teaching credentials from those states. The bill also proposes supporting relocation of eligible military spouses.

The state teachers’ union agrees with that part of the plan. Maryland State Education Association Vice President Nikki Woodward said a few states with student populations and curriculums similar to Maryland include Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania.

“We unfortunately do not graduate enough students from our education programs across the state,” Woodward said in an interview after the briefing. “This allows for an easier transition for educators to come into the state and immediately begin to receive their licensure, to begin working.”

The bill would allow the department to start a national teacher recruitment campaign “to bring licensed and prospective teachers to the state” that includes up to $2,000 in relocation costs. If approved, that campaign would start July 1 and run through July 2029.

Other provisions

The governor’s proposal is slated to go before the Senate Budget and Taxation and Education, Energy, and the Environment committees. No bill hearing has been scheduled. A joint hearing on the House version before Appropriations and Ways and Means could be held next month.

Some of the other items in the bill include allowing school officials to apply for grants, beginning next year, to fund expanded “collaborative time” for teachers. That is time outside of class that teachers use for training, analyzing student data, identifying students who may need help and spending time, one on one or in groups, to get students back on track.

The Blueprint plan calls for collaborative time to be expanded from the current 20% of a teacher’s workday to 40% within the next eight years. But that proposal has run up against the state’s current teacher shortage: In order to start expanding collaborative time next school year, the state would need up to 15,000 more teachers. The number doesn’t account for the 6,000 current teachers who are conditionally approved.

“The purpose of the grant is to provide funds to establish innovative models that can be replicated for teacher collaboration at the school or local school system level that improve teacher retention and student learning,” according to the bill’s language. Initial awards for the $48 million program would start to be distributed March 1, 2026.

The bill also proposes a school system training program and school leadership academy.

The 12-month training program would be for high-ranking school officials, such as the state and local superintendents and school board chairs and vice chairs.

Some of the work would include reviewing data and other education information from top-performing school systems in this country and others, researching the benefits of high-quality and diverse teachers and implementing career ladders for teachers.

A leadership academy would target those who seek to remain or become school principals or other school-based leaders. This academy would also last 12 months and include work on data-informed instruction, utilize teachers on the career ladder and strategies for peer mentorship.

State Board of Education President Joshua Michael said this week the governor’s proposal would provide a $134 million investment to boost the state’s Grow Your Own teacher initiative. He said Wednesday that initiative will help with the Blueprint plan “to deepen and strengthen our teacher pipeline.”

“We stand deeply committed to the promise and vision of the Blueprint,” Michael said to the House committees. “The Blueprint is truly a once-in-a-generation opportunity and represents our nation’s biggest bet on public education.”

William “Brit” Kirwan, vice chair of the Accountability and Implementation Board that oversees the 10-year Blueprint plan, had a few words for any concerns about its future: “Keep the faith. We’re going to get there.”

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Mid-Shore Education: A Chat with Gunston’s John Lewis on AI in the Classroom, Centreville and Growth

September 24, 2024 by Dave Wheelan Leave a Comment

Giving credit where credit is due, it was John Lewis, the Head of School at The Gunston School, who gave the Spy the first idea that Artificial intelligence was a real thing almost two years ago. Joined by graduating senior Damian Rene in early 2023, John outlined how AI was starting to appear in the classroom. Unlike many educators then, he noted how he and his fellow teachers at a private day school in Centreville embraced its use.

With all that in mind, the Spy thought it would be interesting to receive an update from Lewis on how Gunston has adopted its use on our annual check-in with the headmaster. In addition, the Spy also talks to John about the school’s relationship with Centreville and how far Gunston can grow as the population of the Mid-Shore continues to increase.

This video is approximately five minutes in length. For more information about the Gunston School please go here.

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Spy Survey Summary on Learning for a Lifetime on the Mid-Shore

September 23, 2024 by The Spy Leave a Comment

Every year, the Spy selects one nonprofit organization or school on the Mid-Shore that we admire, then we reach out to our 8,000 daily subscribers with a survey designed to inform all of us about a particular issue or initiative.

Recently, as a Spy reader, you were invited to participate in a survey about lifelong learning programs. Thanks to all of you who participated. The views you shared will help our partner in this, the Chesapeake Forum, as they develop their plans for the future.

A few thoughts should be of interest to all our readers and the community.

First, we recognize that this survey was completed by people who have an interest, indeed a passion, for lifelong learning.

Ninety-five percent of those who responded knew of one or more lifetime learning programs in their area. Only three percent did not.

Thus, we started with a well-informed group, and this was not a random survey.

With regard to actual involvement in lifelong learning, forty-five percent indicated they are currently involved in a program with an additional twenty-one percent indicating they have been involved withing the past two years, but not currently. An impressive thirty percent are not involved but are interested in learning more about lifelong learning.

When given alternatives, most people shared a preference for lifelong learning programs that are held in person with small groups of people. The least desired was online learning.

People were asked to indicate topics of greatest interest. Among the most frequently mentioned topics were: history, art, literature, gardening, music and cooking.

It was encouraging to see that after answering a number of questions about lifelong learning, ninety-one percent of the respondents indicated it was very (57%) or somewhat (34%) important to them.

The communities on the Eastern Shore are fortunate to have a number of options when it comes to lifelong learning programs.

While not a complete list, these organizations were mentioned most frequently on the survey in addition to Chesapeake Forum:

Academy Art Museum
Avalon
BAAM
Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum
Chesapeake College
Talbot County Historical Society
Washington College

If you wish further information, the good folks at Chesapeake Forum, Academy for Lifelong Learning (WC-All) in Chestertown, and the Institute of Lifelong Learning.

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As School Year Begins, Education Reform Plan Faces a Reckoning

August 22, 2024 by Maryland Matters 1 Comment

When Maryland public schools welcome nearly 890,000 students back to classes in the coming days, it will also be the beginning of year three of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, the state’s sweeping education reform plan.

But the plan’s future is suddenly up in the air, as state and local lawmakers are raising new concerns about its costs in a time of budget uncertainty.

That was highlighted last weekend, when Gov. Wes Moore (D) told a gathering of county leaders the plan may need to be refined due to pending fiscal challenges. Moore said he supports the goals of the Blueprint but the challenge now is “to address our fiscal challenges … and right now, everything is on the table.”

But Paul Lemle hopes the state stays the course.

“It’s a once-in-a-generation investment in our students and our educators. So, it makes no sense that people would say it’s not a good thing, or blame it for some other problem,” said Lemle, a Howard County high school social studies teacher who began a three-year term this month as president of the Maryland State Education Association.

“The bad part of it is when you hear local elected officials saying, ‘Our budgets are tighter. We can’t afford it.’ That’s wrong,” Lemle said Monday, while in Chicago for the Democratic National Convention. “It’s a really short-sighted perspective because the Blueprint is doing exactly what it is intended to do – improve educator salaries, put more people into the profession, hire more of them.”

The Blueprint law passed in 2020, but was vetoed by then-Gov. Larry Hogan (R). The General Assembly overrode his veto in 2021, but implementation was pushed back a year because of COVID-19 school closures.

The education plan is based on five priorities, or pillars: hiring and retaining high-quality and diverse teachers, early childhood education, providing additional resources for students in need, preparing students for college and technical careers, and governance and accountability.

Some aspects of the Blueprint have already been implemented, such as an increase in prekindergarten enrollment and more high school students able to take local college courses for free, a plan known as dual enrollment.

But local school officials for months have outlined challenges in implementing the Blueprint, such as funding, diversifying teacher workforce and the need for more flexibility from the state to continue implementing the 10-year plan.

And county government leaders joined in last week at the Maryland Association of Counties conference, where high costs and inflexibility of the plan were mentioned frequently.

“Between state revenues, between fund balances getting lower, it’s going to be more and more cataclysmic without course corrections on the way,” Dorchester County Councilman Michael Detmer (R) said during a Saturday session. He said he is skeptical the Blueprint’s supporters will readily agree to changes.

Del. Jefferson Ghrist (R-Upper Shore) moderates a panel Aug. 15 at the Maryland Association of Counties summer conference in Ocean City. Photo by William J. Ford.

A Thursday session on the Blueprint’s early childhood pillar – which includes a requirement that school districts provide a mixed-delivery system to serve students in both public schools and private child care centers – brought a plea for flexibility.

“No matter what the issue is, one size never fits all and pre-k is a great example of that,” said Del. Jefferson Ghrist (R-Upper Shore), who moderated the discussion. Ghrist voted against the Blueprint three years ago, but said he does support the early childhood part of the plan.

Better collaboration

Erin Doolittle, a prekindergarten teacher at Hillcrest Elementary in Frederick County, agrees that one size doesn’t fit all. But she said that she likes what she’s seen of the Blueprint so far.

Doolittle said the Blueprint has provided additional support for her school, where she’s entering her 21st year teaching, like the requirement to have a coordinator in schools designated as community schools. For her school, the coordinator organized a weekly afternoon gathering with families this summer at a local park, where children read books, practiced the alphabet and did other activities. Doolittle said parents could also receive information about transit services in the county.

Hillcrest serves as a community school that partners with local organizations to help teachers as well as parents and students’ families. Last school year, Doolittle said at least 75% of her 20 students spoke English as a second language at home.

As Doolittle prepared her classroom Monday for classes that began Wednesday, there were colorful phrases in English and Spanish posted around the room, such as “Nadie es como tú y ese es tu poder” – or “No one is like you and that is your power” in English.

“I think with the community schools coordinator, we’re being intentional about how we’re integrating the community and helping the community, rather than just kind of throwing things out there and hoping something helps,” she said. “We’ve always served as a community school, but the Blueprint has improved collaboration tremendously.”

In Doolittle’s room, she has several stations for reading, art and a carpet for morning meetings next to a full-size touchscreen board. Besides recognizing letters and numbers, social skills are a key component in prekindergarten, like learning to ask for help, being able to work with others and showing patience while waiting for a teacher to acknowledge them.

Since children are 3 and 4 years old, they take daily naps, or rest time, for about an hour. The goal is to get that down to about 40 minutes near the end of the school year, Doolittle said, so students’ bodies and minds are able to handle kindergarten.

“I think pre-k is kind of this very nebulous thing. What we’re doing is very, very different,” Doolittle said. “They’re singing and dancing and learning. There’s a lot going on, but it’s fun.”

Doolittle’s advice for state lawmakers and other officials to improve the Blueprint: “Just come and visit the classroom. See what’s going on. Then you’ll see how it really works.”

‘Still learning the Blueprint’

Unlike Doolittle, Michelle Early, calls herself “a career changer.” She worked in nonprofit management, retail management and for one year at a bank before settling on teaching. She is beginning her fourth year this week as a business teacher at Frederick County’s Walkersville High School.

Michelle Early, a business teacher at Walkersville High School in Frederick County, talks about students who can write their names on the cabinets just before they graduate. Photo by William J. Ford.

“I’m still learning the Blueprint,” she said Tuesday in her classroom, where she was getting ready for the start of classes Wednesday.

But Early, who teaches students in grades nine through 12, said the Blueprint has given her students more opportunities for college and career readiness. For those who may not want to enroll in free community college courses, Early said the school offers field trips to visit local businesses. Students can also get certified in a particular industry and get a job prior or after high school graduation.

“I see the excitement level on those students faces,” Early said. “Some aren’t or don’t want to go to college, but having another option for them makes all the difference.”

One part of the law she appreciates is increasing teacher starting salaries to $60,000 by July 2026. Early said she’s fortunate to work down the street from her school, but knows of other teachers who work in the county and live in Washington County or even Pennsylvania, because they cannot afford to live in Frederick County.

“Our wages are not enough. We go beyond the 35-to-40-hour work week,” she said. “This is beneficial for educators.”

One aspect of the Blueprint she’s still trying to grasp encourages teachers to earn national board certification, which recognizes them as “accomplished,” or experts in a certain area.

Every school district in the state has at least one teacher with that designation. But the state Department of Education said in a teacher workforce report in May that slightly more than 1,200, or 74%, of Maryland teachers designated as National Board Certified were concentrated in Anne Arundel, Howard, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.

Wright: There must be ‘a conscious effort’ to grow, diversify Maryland’s teacher workforce

The report notes more than 3,000 teachers during the previous school year of 2023-24 registered to receive “fee support” to pursue the certification. Once certified, teachers are eligible for a $10,000 raise, with an additional $7,000 for those who teach at an “identified low-performing school.”

Early thinks educators who pursue continuing education should be rewarded just the same as those who seek national board certification.

“As a teacher, I can see the importance of national board certification. Michelle, the person, I don’t see that a national board certification should be more important than someone who works at [earning] a doctorate,” she said. “Shouldn’t we as educators compensate that person in an equitable manner for having achieved that doctoral status, just as we are compensating someone who’s doing national board certification?”

Lemle, the teacher’s union president, said national board certification for a teacher improves the quality of instruction in the classroom by providing teachers with “incentives to stay in the classroom instead of … becoming administrators or leaving a classroom for other positions.”

“That’s why it’s money so well spent for our kids because we’re improving teacher quality and keeping them [teachers] in the classroom,” he said.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Bay Climate Adaptation: The TNC Guide in Finding the Money for Major Infrastructure Change

August 12, 2024 by Henley Moore Leave a Comment

A few months ago, The Nature Conservancy released a report that could solve one of the major obstacles facing climate adaptation: finding the money to do things.

Many towns, particularly on the Eastern Shore, are facing an increasingly long list of infrastructure projects, but funding those expensive undertakings has become harder. That’s where TNC’s report, SEAFARE, could make a huge difference to those municipalities.

Through workshops with various stakeholders, including local residents, environmental justice leaders, and government officials, the report identifies barriers like complicated funding processes. It provides a toolkit to help decision-makers improve access to those dollars.

The Spy’s Dave Wheelan spoke to Human Sharif, TNC’s climate adaptation manager, to understand more.

This video is approximately five minutes in length. For more information about this report please go here.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

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