An RCS teacher leading hands-on activities in the Discovery Room

Radcliffe Creek School (RCS), the only K-8 institution dedicated to educating bright children with learning differences on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, recently announced the commencement of a search for a new Head of School. This position, to begin July 1, 2025, will be pivotal in furthering the School’s mission to empower children in a dynamic environment that celebrates unique learning. 

Since Radcliffe Creek’s founding in 1996, the School has long been recognized for its commitment to nurturing the unique strengths and addressing the individual needs of neurodivergent learners. Its customized educational program utilizes hands-on, multisensory and immersive strategies to engage bright students with and without diagnoses such as ADHD, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, sensory processing disorder, anxiety and ASD. The School continues to stand out as a critical resource for area families, some of whom send their children across the Chesapeake Bay and state lines to receive the School’s services.

Only three Heads of School have served the private institution since its founding. Having expanded to serve eight counties across Maryland’s Eastern and Western Shores, as well as the State of Delaware, Radcliffe Creek is poised to continue this tradition under new leadership.

Betsy Duff, President of the Board of Trustees and Chair of the Search Committee for the next Head of School said, “The Radcliffe Creek community is eager to welcome its new Head next year. We are excited to meet the talented and dedicated educators who are called by this important opportunity, and to introduce them to the life-changing school that is Radcliffe Creek.”

The Board of Trustees has engaged Kirk Duncan, a respected and experienced independent school leader with over 40 years of experience as a teacher, coach and administrator in independent schools, to assist in identifying and recruiting outstanding candidates. “I am pleased to be part of the search for the school’s next leader as Radcliffe Creek School is poised for an era of growth and development,” Duncan remarked.

Following a survey distributed to the school community, key traits sought in the new Head of School were identified. These qualities include a candidate who is strategic minded, caring and approachable; firm yet fair; a collaborative and decisive decision-maker; an inspiring communicator; an effective fundraiser; and experienced in serving students who learn differently.

Various members of the School’s community will have opportunities to provide input throughout the search process, ensuring the selected candidate aligns with the aspirations and expectations of the Radcliffe Creek community.

To read the full Opportunity Statement and remain updated on the search process for the next Head of School, please visit: https://www.radcliffecreekschool.org/head-of-school-search

To help pay for the Blueprint plan through fiscal year 2027, the legislature also approved the Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act, known as the BRFA, which provides a portion of revenue through an increase in the tobacco sales tax.

According to a chart provided by the Blueprint’s Accountability and Implementation Board (AIB) that oversees the multi-billion-dollar plan, a $1.25 increase in a pack of cigarettes could generate about $86 million, while tax increases on other tobacco products could provide another $5 million in the upcoming fiscal year. The total amount of tobacco revenue is expected to decrease from $91 million to about $71 million by fiscal year 2029, because when tobacco taxes go up, tobacco use often goes down — or users look to other states with lower taxes to buy their products.

A graph summarizing some revenues to fund the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future education reform plan. Courtesy of the Blueprint Accountability and Implementation Board.

Nevertheless, an additional $76 million generated in taxes on tobacco and other products in fiscal years 2026 and 2027 would be designated toward the Blueprint fund.

In addition, the legislature approved the transfer of $40 million from the School Construction Revolving Loan Fund to the Blueprint fund.

In other parts of the budget, about $3 million is allocated for a child care career professional development fund. One purpose is to expand opportunities for those in the profession to receive formal credentials or college credit.

Part of the requirement is for individuals to work at least 20 hours per week for a period of time determined by the Officer of Child Care within the state Department of Education.

The career development legislation was sponsored by Del. Julie Palakovich Carr (D-Montgomery), but later included in a comprehensive package — House Bill 1441 — sponsored by Del. Vanessa E.  Atterbeary (D-Howard), chair of the House Ways and Means Committee.

Del. Jared Solomon (D-Montgomery), who serves on the House Appropriations Committee, said Monday that child care providers who qualify for services under the Blueprint plan can receive $20,000 per child.

“Which is transformative,” he said. “Coupled with the professional development funds, it was a real sensible compromise around teacher certifications for private providers. You have now opened up new universal providers who last year didn’t feel like the Blueprint was for them.”

One of the Blueprint’s five priorities focuses on early childhood education, including the expansion of prekindergarten service to 3- and 4-year-old children. Part of the reform plan calls for a “mixed-delivery system” to serve them in public schools and in private child care centers.

Another budgetary item the legislature approved requires all 24 public school systems to allocate funding to hire Blueprint coordinators.

According to a fiscal analysis of House Bill 1082 sponsored by Del. Stephanie Smith (D-Baltimore City), a person would be hired at $150,000, including salaries and benefits, for the job. The cost would be shared between the state and each jurisdiction, but it won’t be evenly distributed.

For instance, Worcester County would pay the highest local share at $127,500 and the state $22,500.

Another jurisdiction on the Eastern Shore, Caroline County, would pay the lowest local share at $40,461, compared to the state’s $109,539.

In total, the state anticipates contributing about $2 million toward Blueprint coordinators.

The budget also provides about $290,000 for the AIB to rent office space and fill a new government affairs position.

“Overall, it was a very successful session,” Rachel Hise, executive director of the AIB, said during a Blueprint board meeting Thursday.

Not everyone agrees.

A coalition of organizations and some lawmakers pushed for The Fair Share Act, which sought to reform the state’s tax code and would have raised revenue by $1.6 billion when fully phased in.

“The General Assembly had an opportunity this session to generate the revenue we know we’re going to need down the line to do Blueprint implementation with fidelity,” said Shamoyia Gardiner, executive director of Strong Schools Maryland, an advocacy group. “By and large, while they may have generated some revenue, I think they missed the opportunity to put the state in a position where we can guarantee ourselves a world-class education. I think now it’s not quite as certain.”

By William J. Ford

Early March brought the announcement that Ming Li and Matthew Gray, faculty members of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, had been named U.S. Fulbright Scholars for the 2024-25 academic year. 

Dr. Matthew Gray

The U.S. Fulbright Program strives to increase understanding between citizens of the U.S. and partner countries through cultural and educational exchange programs, playing an important part in U.S. diplomacy. Fulbright alumni include thousands of leaders and international experts in academics and other fields. The program offers unique opportunities for its scholars to teach and conduct research abroad.

Dr. Li will collaborate with scientists in Portugal on coastal harmful algal bloom (HAB) forecasting and warning systems. Dr. Gray is set to spend time in Sweden testing hypotheses about oyster types that may thrive in warmer, more acidic oceans because of climate change.

Li earned his doctorate in Geophysical Fluid Dynamics from Oxford University and has been at UMCES’s Horn Point Laboratory since 2001. His research interests lie largely in physical oceanography, including air-sea interaction, turbulent mixing processes, and internal waves. Besides using numerical models to address these and other issues, he has actively engaged in researching environmental problems such as hypoxia and ocean acidification. A major focus of his most recent research was the regional impact of climate change, sea level rise, storm surge, and estuarine and coastal dynamics.

Dr. Ming Li

“Dr. Li is one of the most influential thought leaders of his generation in the field of environmental fluid mechanics spanning coastal resilience and the vulnerability of our coastal ecosystems to changing climate,” said UMCES President Peter Goodwin, who added that Li “is a research leader and an exceptional collaborator.”

“I’m honored and excited to have received this award, which will allow me to foster relationships with oceanographers at the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere in Portugal,” said Li of his Fulbright scholarship. “My ultimate goal is to bolster U.S.-Portuguese collaborations on research of HABs as well as advance the state-of-the-art models for predicting HABs in coastal oceans and estuaries.”

Pennsylvania-born Gray thought as a kid that he wanted to be a radiologist. But, when he got to college, he “learned that you could be a doctor but also study the environment and not have to live your life inside the hospital.” At the same time, he embraced surfing, which started him “heading in this marine direction.” He earned his doctorate in Fisheries Science at Oregon State University in 2016, and then did postdoctoral work at the University of Maine in 2017. That was the same year he joined the faculty at UMCES.

As an ecophysiologist, Gray has focused his research on understanding the response of marine invertebrates to environmental conditions as well as the ecological benefits offered by those organisms. He became particularly interested in the services shellfish can provide to an ecosystem. His studies are meant to provide relevant data to help inform stakeholders, management, and policies in Maryland and beyond. Recently, he has investigated how brooding species of oysters may have evolved their traits to cope with acidification stress. Toward that end, he has worked informally with Swedish scientists at the University of Gothenburg for two years.

“Our short-term goals include conducting acidification experiments with the European Flat oyster, but my hope is the award will help establish long-lasting collaborations with researchers in Sweden and elsewhere in Europe,” said Gray, who added that he is “very excited about this opportunity.” This is likely in part because of his love of travel, which he’s done to such places as Hawaii, Italy, Brazil, and Chile.

“These awards exemplify the quality of scientific research being done at Horn Point-UMCES,” said director Michael Sieracki.

Li and Gray will begin their research programs this fall.