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May 29, 2023

Chestertown Spy

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Washington College Names Finalists for Nation’s Largest Undergraduate Writing Prize

May 19, 2023 by Washington College News Service Leave a Comment

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Queen Cornish, A.J. Gerardi, Sophia Rooks, Virginia, Eylie Sasajima, and Amara Sorosiak

Washington College has named the students on its short list for the Sophie Kerr Prize, the nation’s largest literary award for a college student, valued at nearly $80,000 this year. The winner will be announced at a ceremony this Friday, May 19 after the finalists all read from their work.

Four of this year’s five finalists submitted portfolios with several pieces for consideration, and the fifth submitted a 96-page play, an adaptation she wrote of John Gardner’s Grendel. While all of them are writers, the students have varied involvement across campus, including as a varsity athlete, a podcast host, editors of the College’s student-run journal, Collegian, and a student who has conducted several ethnographic research projects during their time at Washington.

Elizabeth O’Connor, associate professor of English and acting chair of the English department, announced the five graduating seniors who are finalists for this year’s prize: Queen Cornish of Wilmington, Delaware; A.J. Gerardi from Wayne, Pennsylvania; Sophia Rooks of Williamsburg, Virginia; Eylie Sasajima of Spring Grove, Pennsylvania; and Amara Sorosiak from New Milford, Connecticut.

“The finalists demonstrate Washington College’s longstanding strengths as a unique community for the literary and creative arts that also fosters critical thinking and writing across all disciplines. The writers represent areas of study that include English, creative writing, journalism, editing & publishing, theatre, anthropology, and environmental studies,” O’Connor said. “The committee was particularly impressed by the range of work submitted in the portfolios: poetry, short fiction, excerpts from novels, essays and creative nonfiction, an entire play, oral history and ethnography, and even a graphic novel. In reading through these portfolios, we all were struck by the expansive vision of literary production that emerges from the minds, hearts, and hands of these young writers.”

The Sophie Kerr Prize is named for an early 20th century writer from the Eastern Shore of Maryland who left a generous bequest to Washington College with the stipulation that half of its annual proceeds would fund a literary prize for a student. The other support made possible by Sophie Kerr’s gift funds visiting scholars and writers, scholarships for promising students, library books, internships, and research, all in the fields of literature, writing, and publishing.

The prize is awarded each year to the graduating senior who has the best ability and promise for future fulfillment in the field of literary endeavor. In the past, the prize has been awarded for both creative and critical writing alike. Student winners are chosen for their literary excellence, regardless of genre. The portfolio students submit for consideration for the Sophie Kerr Prize typically includes the full range of writing that students pursue at Washington College, including fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, screenplays and drama, journalism, editing, scholarly criticism and research in all disciplines, and even song lyrics.

Watch Friday night’s ceremony live at youtube.com

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

Filed Under: Archives, Ed Homepage, Ed Notes, Ed Portal Lead

Miscommunication Delays Approving Blueprint Education Reform Plans

May 12, 2023 by Maryland Matters Leave a Comment

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Approval of local plans for reforming Maryland’s public schools will be delayed until July because state education officials are taking additional time to assess them.

The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Accountability and Implementation Board (AIB), which met in person Thursday for the first time since December, could’ve begun approving some plans this month.

Board Chair Isiah “Ike” Leggett said the delay stems from “an unforced error” in communication, and that it is especially important to rectify any misunderstandings when dealing with a multi-billion-dollar plan to reform Maryland’s education structure.

“This is a major transformation. The Blueprint is not just simply dotting the I’s [and] crossing the T’s,” he said. “We are…making a huge change as it relates to education. We anticipate some challenges and disagreements.”

The miscommunication involves the process for assessing each Blueprint plan from the state’s 24 local school systems.

The state Department of Education continues to review school system documents based on “Criteria for Success” which emphasize early childhood education, recruiting and retaining high-quality and diverse teachers and leaders, ensuring that students are prepared for college and careers, and providing additional resources for students.

By state law, the department provides recommendations on the Blueprint plans and the accountability board grants final approval.

According to a timeline the department released Wednesday, plans would be reviewed between Wednesday and Monday and the department would submit recommendations to the accountability board by Tuesday.

If the state needs additional time to review plans — or plan revisions — beyond next week, review periods are scheduled for May 31-June 5 and June 21-June 26.

“MSDE’s Blueprint implementation team members have proactively engaged with AIB staff regularly and with great frequency since the AIB became operational to facilitate continued and appropriate collaboration…” according to a statement from the department. “The State Board [of Education] and MSDE remain committed to working with the AIB within the current statutory framework to deliver transformative educational outcomes for all of Maryland’s children and to help make Maryland the best place to live, learn, and succeed.”

Rachel Hise, executive director for the accountability board, said information has been shared. However, some Blueprint feedback has gone directly to local school systems (also referred to as local education agencies or LEAs), creating a “two-step process.”

“The hope was that the MSDE feedback and the AIB feedback would be given to the LEAs at the same time…so that there would be one revision process,” Hise said after the nearly two-hour meeting. “Now, there will be a two-step process and the potential that the AIB may ask LEAs to revise their plans again after they’ve revised them for MSDE. We’re trying to avoid that as much as possible.”

There also lies a small “quirk” in state law.

Blueprint plans can be reviewed but cannot be approved in the month of June, to avoid confusion about funding when a new fiscal year begins July 1.

“The month of June is like a no go in the statute,” Hise said.

The board isn’t scheduled to meet again until June 8.

Meanwhile, the board approved a $76,747 expenditure to hire Ad Adstra Inc. of Montgomery County to transcribe all of this year’s Blueprint plans into Spanish.

Hise said school districts reported that Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language behind English.

The goal will be to review future long-term contracts with Ad Adstra or other companies to transcribe future Blueprint plans and other documents into more languages, board members agreed.

Thursday marked the first meeting for Justin K. Robinson, whom Gov. Wes Moore (D) appointed to join the seven-member board.

Robinson currently serves as the only educator on the board. He teaches eighth grade math and helps mentor other teachers in Prince George’s County public schools.

By William J. Ford

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

Filed Under: Ed Homepage, Ed Portal Lead, News Homepage, News Portal Highlights

Town Council Watch: WC Director of Civic Engagement Explains New Role

May 2, 2023 by James Dissette 1 Comment

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Washington College recently appointed Pat Nugent as its new Director of Civic Engagement. The appointment highlights the institution’s dedication to fostering strong relationships between the college, its students, and the surrounding community.

During Monday night’s meeting, Nugent introduced his new role to the town council, saying that his priority is to support students, staff, and faculty in building collaborations with community partners and striving for a healthier and more sustainable Chestertown.

Nugent believes such opportunities are win-win situations, providing real learning experiences for students and benefiting community partners. These partners include numerous non-profits, local businesses, and even the town council.

As part of his role, Nugent is open to feedback from community partners to ensure that the partnerships are not only serving the students’ learning experience but also genuinely helping the community. He hopes to work closely with the town to explore ways to make Chestertown’s democracy more robust, participatory, and inclusive.

“I love the idea of partnering with the town to enhance Chestertown’s democracy and make it more robust, participatory, and inclusive. We could collaborate on research around voting rates or any other measure that could help us gauge the robustness of a small town’s democracy. This could be a great opportunity for us to think through this question in the long run,” he said.

The director envisions partnering on research projects related to voting rights and increasing voting rates in small rural towns. He disputes the notion that Chestertown is “in the middle of nowhere,” instead arguing that the town’s size and location provide students with unique opportunities to make a real impact.

Washington College students have already found themselves in positions of influence, serving on the boards of local non-profits and working closely with town officials. Nugent’s appointment is expected to further expand these opportunities for students, making the relationship between the college and the town even stronger.

The new Director is also keen to involve faculty in these community engagement initiatives. The college already boasts strong connections between faculty and community organizations, such as collaborations with local education and sociology departments on projects like literacy education and housing surveys.

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

Filed Under: News Homepage, Ed Portal Lead, Ed Portal Lead

Embracing Inclusivity through Employment: A Chat with Benedictine’s Ade Laditan

April 13, 2023 by The Spy Leave a Comment

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Born and raised in Nigeria, Adedapo Laditan came to the United States to pursue higher education in information systems and sciences when his job search took an unexpected turn which led him to work in the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities.

He began his career as a weekend counselor at a nonprofit agency, eventually working his way up to become the Senior Director for Adult Services at Benedictine.

At Benedictine, Ade oversees two programs: the adult residential program and the adult day services program. The organization currently supports 98 adults in these programs, emphasizing their right to live fulfilling lives and contribute to their community, just like anyone else.

Benedictine actively promotes this belief through a process called person-centered planning. Each individual’s preferences, interests, and strengths are considered when matching them with potential employment opportunities in the community. Benedictine also offers skill-building programs to help individuals meet the needs of local businesses.

As a result, many of the adults supported by Benedictine have found meaningful employment in various sectors, including graphic design, hospitality, and retail. Currently, about 20 individuals are employed in the community, with varying levels of independence and support from Benedictine.

Despite the success stories, there are still challenges in finding businesses willing to collaborate and provide opportunities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Often, the problem lies in a lack of understanding and education about the valuable contributions these individuals can bring to the workplace.

To bridge this gap, Benedictine works closely with local businesses to ensure that they add value to their operations while addressing their concerns about potential barriers. By showcasing the benefits of diversity in the workplace, Benedictine hopes to create more opportunities for their community members.

Ade envisions a near future where individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities are fully integrated into society, enjoying the same experiences as those without disabilities. By breaking down barriers and fostering acceptance, Benedictine is paving the way for a more inclusive and diverse community.

This video is approximately 5 minutes in length. for more information about Benedictine please go here

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

Filed Under: Ed Portal Lead

Gunston School Embraces Artificial Intelligence for Learning

April 11, 2023 by The Spy Leave a Comment

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Gunston School, a private school just outside of Centreville, like so many other things in its long history, seems to be at the forefront of integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into its curriculum. In this interview with Head of School John Lewis and graduating senior Damian Rene talk about school’s unique approach to AI and find a way to weave this new technology into every subject and discipline, while also providing a specific strand for students who have a deep interest in computer science, such as Damian.

The school sees AI as a learning tool rather than something to avoid. Lewis said, “We should really embrace it as more of a learning tool rather than this thing to kind of stay away from.” The birth of the Internet sparked similar reactions, but the school recognizes its potential in the classroom.

AI has been around for a while, but it has exploded recently due to public access. Students can generate anything from essays to theses, research papers, and practice problems. Damian presented a sample assignment for Lewis’s AP class as part of the trustee presentation. Lewis said it was a good encapsulation of the assignment, but students should not rely on AI as a 100% accurate resource.

Gunston’s approach to AI is focused on teaching students critical thinking in the age of AI. Lewis cited the example of maps and how students need to learn directionality, even though they can rely on GPS. The school wants to bring fundamental concepts into analog format so that students understand the deep structure of the concept before using AI tools.

Damian provided two examples of AI’s potential for learning. One was creating a marketing campaign for Gunston using specific terms. The other was generating an essay assignment, which the AI tool completed. Lewis said the school needs to rethink what it expects from students in terms of production and the teaching of writing.

Gunston is still at the first steps of AI integration. The school has an internal team dedicated to exploring the technology and formulating additional training and professional development for faculty. Lewis acknowledges that some people know how to use AI, but the vast majority of Americans have no idea of its potential.

The school aims to teach critical thinking in the age of AI and bring fundamental concepts into analog format before using AI tools. Gunston is at the first steps of AI integration and plans to offer training and professional development for faculty in the upcoming summer and fall.

This video is approximately 5 minutes in length. For more information about the Gunston School please go here.

Editor note: The introduction copy to this Spy video interview was produced by ChatGPT-3.5.

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

Filed Under: Ed Homepage, Ed Portal Lead

New Blueprint Reports on Maryland’s Struggle to Hire Educators

March 27, 2023 by Maryland Matters Leave a Comment

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Maryland’s local school systems submitted their plans to implement a decade-long education reform plan, the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, earlier this month. And now they must start the work of putting the plans into action — or risk state funding being withheld.

The Blueprint’s Accountability and Implementation Board, which is tasked with oversight of the sweeping multi-billion-dollar reforms, will determine in the next several weeks whether each school system’s initial report met minimum requirements.

Rachel Hise, executive director of the implementation board, said during a virtual meeting earlier this month that one of the most basic reviews will be whether each public school system in the state sufficiently answered more than 150 questions meant to guide implementation of reforms.

If the accountability board finds a local plan insufficient, it has the power to withhold 25% of Blueprint funding until minimum guidelines are met.

The initial implementation reports will guide local Blueprint goals through the 2023-24 school year based on four priorities: improve early childhood education, hire and retain high-quality and diverse teachers, make sure students are prepared for college and technical careers and offer more resources for students in need.

Currently, every school district plan notes that help is needed to recruit, hire and retain teachers in all levels of special education, that there’s a lack of certified or qualified teacher applicants and a limited number of college graduates entering the teaching profession.

The General Assembly is considering a bill, the Maryland Educator Shortage Act, which could help. The bill, which passed the House of Delegates earlier this month, would increase financial assistance programs for teachers and mental health professionals in schools and encourage diversification of the state’s public school workforce.

If also approved by the Senate and then signed into law by Gov. Wes Moore (D), who introduced the measure, the bill would go into effect July 1.

Del Stephanie Smith (D-Baltimore City), chair of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland’s education committee, wants to let teachers know with passage of the teacher’s shortage act that “help is on the way.”

Smith, who also chairs the Education & Economic Development Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee, urges leaders at all 24 school districts to reach out to the state’s four historically Black colleges and universities and other minority serving institutions to find future teachers.

“We have colleges that cover a breadth of expertise, a breadth of geography and a breadth of different experiences,” she said Wednesday. “I would call on every local education agency to ensure they’re reaching out to all of these institutions.”

What school districts say they’re facing

One of the many questions school districts addressed in the first implementation report focuses on “hiring trends and needs.”

It asked: In what grade levels and subject areas has the school system struggled to recruit prospective teachers?

Here’s part of the documented responses from each county and Baltimore City:

Allegany – “FSU (Frostburg State University) is experiencing a decrease in enrollment of local students (Allegany County or surrounding areas). This trend has created a body of interns that attend FSU and intern in our buildings and then elect to return to the area from which they hail. This leaves us with fewer applicants to fill openings. For example, in 2022, we had six secondary math vacancies and only six candidates. This candidate pool, and others, is much smaller than what ACPS have experienced in the past, limiting our system’s opportunity to select a candidate that matches the needs of the position and the school.”

Anne Arundel – “From an analysis of our recent data, we are having challenges filling intermediate elementary grade positions, specifically 4th and 5th. When given an option, teachers prefer younger grade levels and if they are not able to teach in these levels, they often will go to a surrounding district where are primary grade vacancies. AACPS has needs spanning all content areas, including over 50 in special and elementary education.”

Baltimore City – “Historically, our greatest needs have been recruiting the requisite number of teachers in the harder-to-fill content areas of Career and Technical Education (CTE), English as a Second Language (ESOL), math, science, special education and world languages. This is in part because of the relatively low numbers of students in colleges of education that are electing to become certified in these harder-to-fill content areas. Although our college and university partners are working to increase the number of students in high-needs content areas, currently the majority of City Schools’ student interns are becoming certified in elementary, English, and social studies. Furthermore, CTE teachers often have significant industry experience, and depending on the vocation, the salaries that they can earn in their industries exceed what they will earn as CTE teachers. These content areas will continue to be a recruitment challenge in hiring for [next school year].”

Baltimore County – “Baltimore County Public Schools has historically had challenges with recruiting and hiring teachers in the critical need areas to include special education, mathematics, science, technology education, world languages (Spanish), and English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). Recently, Baltimore County Public Schools has added elementary education, early childhood, English, and social studies to the critical need areas. Hiring at all levels has been a challenge; however, the challenges are more prevalent at the middle school level. Each year, BCPS has hired more conditionally certified teachers in these critical shortage areas. In addition, there has been a national decline in the number of teacher candidates enrolled and graduating from teacher education programs.”

Calvert – “Hiring data from previous years has demonstrated that Calvert County Public Schools has had a difficult time hiring teachers in certain subject areas. These areas include the secondary education areas of math and science, as well as all grade levels in special education, as evidenced by vacancy data and timeline data for hiring in these areas. An additional challenge for Calvert County is the geographic location and limited housing options for single employees. Although less than an hour from Washington, D.C., and Annapolis, Calvert County is predominantly rural, with few options for rental housing and entertainment for recent college graduates. The county is considered a great place to raise a family but has less appeal for young professionals.”

Caroline – “Recruitment challenges stem from a number of challenges, including supply of teacher candidates, competition from other areas, as well as certification requirements. CCPS competes with mostly the other nine Eastern Shore counties for candidates, and the number of local teacher candidates is continuing to decrease while our demand increases. While currently CCPS ranks 3rd on the shore in terms of starting salary, we have traditionally been lower in that comparison which is a disadvantage to recruitment efforts. Furthermore, when certified teaching candidates cannot be found, conditional candidates must be hired in order to fill the positions and staff our schools.”

Carroll – “The supply of teachers continues to be a significant concern for CCPS, as data show that the number of individuals selecting teaching as a profession continues to decline. In addition, Maryland institutions of higher education continue to produce relatively few graduates in relation to the state’s need. Vacancies in critical shortage content areas combined with a shortage of local candidates and in-state programs that lead to teacher certification in those areas results in an emphasis on out-of-state recruiting efforts to help fill those vacancies in CCPS. The national teacher shortage continues to make it difficult to recruit highly qualified applicants in critical shortage content areas. An analysis of the CCPS candidate pool revealed that nearly 75% of the applicants were seeking positions in non-critical shortage content areas.”

Cecil – “Decreased enrollment in education programs has resulted in fewer candidates for vacancies. As the Cecil County Public Schools workforce ages out, CCPS will continue to face the challenge of hiring certified candidates. This has increased the number of conditional candidates being hired, specifically in the areas below.

  • “Special Education, all grade levels: Each year CCPS hires dual certified candidates to fill vacancies. As general education [content] positions open within the system, teachers will transfer to those positions creating a cycle of unfilled special education positions each year. Increasing caseloads and workloads contribute to people leaving special education more quickly.
  • 6-12 Math: CCPS continues to struggle with attracting graduates with mathematics degrees into the field of education as there are other career opportunities available with higher salaries and fringe benefits. CCPS continues to seek career changers and support their certification work.”

Charles – “Diverse representation in education throughout the State of Maryland and across the nation remains a challenge. Still, CCPS progressed in increasing representation, surpassing the state. For example, CCPS has increased the overall number of diverse professional staff by 8.5% over the past five years, outpacing the state by 5.71%. Fortunately, the proximity of the Washington, D.C. metro area and recruitment outreach to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) allow access to diverse staff candidates despite the shrinkage in the teacher pipeline across the US. The CCPS Board of Education will continue to charge the Office of Human Resources through the Superintendent with strategic diversity hiring practices. The school system will also continue to evaluate Title II data to target universities and job fairs for recruitment of diverse candidates.”

Dorchester – “Dorchester County Public Schools (DCPS) has an extremely high turnover rate. DCPS had an attrition rate of 18% for the (2021-22) school year. Historically, DCPS has not been able to fill most certified teaching vacancies. DCPS has drafted a Recruiting Plan for the current school year. The plan specifies recruitment fairs targeting critical needs areas. A heightened focus will be on HBCUs to recruit a more diverse population that more closely matches our student demographics. Reassessing our recruitment teams is also a process that we are revisiting. DCPS also looks to recruit Special Education teacher candidates from colleges and universities with solid reputations for producing quality Special Education teachers, such as Bloomsburg University [in Pennsylvania] and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.”

Frederick – “Of the teachers employed during the 2021-2022 reporting period [approximately] 170, or 39%, were hired to teach in critical shortage areas. These critical shortage areas, as defined by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), now include all content areas. Previously, the critical shortage areas included special education, science, mathematics, STEM, Career and Technical Education (CTE), and English learners (EL). Our special education and EL positions throughout all grade levels presented an area of struggle in recruiting qualified candidates for these positions. Science, mathematics, STEM, and CTE positions are more relevant in our secondary areas and present a struggle in securing candidates to fill these vacant positions.”

Garrett – “Garrett County Public Schools (GCPS) has traditionally had a strong pool of teacher candidates in all certificate areas to consider for open positions. Over the last several years, we have had fewer applicants for all positions, which has created a challenge to ensure we have the most highly qualified educators to fill classroom positions. As a result, we are hiring more conditional teachers and spending much more time, money, and effort to recruit available certified teachers. In addition, to compete with other local education agencies, we also have to hire much earlier than in the past. Another strategy that GCPS has implemented due to this shortage has been the creation of several Grow Your Own initiatives to try to build a pipeline of educators within our school system. Another challenge in recruiting teachers to GCPS is the lack of affordable housing and the availability of jobs for a spouse in another professional position.”

Harford – “We are directly impacted by the lack of educators coming from Maryland Institutes of Higher Education (MIE). As an example, only 157 teachers hired came to HCPS from a Maryland IHE out of the 281 teachers hired during the 2021-2022 MSDE reporting year. When we do not have enough certified educators to fulfil our needs, we are having to use creative measures to fill our classroom vacancies. Those include misassigning teachers outside of their field, hiring conditional teachers, and spending much more time, money, and effort to recruit certified teachers that are available. In order to compete with other local education agencies, we are also having to hire much earlier than in the past. We are hiring students while they are early in their internship year, which does not allow us to fully evaluate their skillset and fit for our students.”

Howard – “At this time, Maryland does not have a comprehensive statewide package to attract out-of-state educators to move to the state. HCPSS is competing with other states that offer educators benefits such as free tuition if they teach in the state for a certain number of years. For individuals who are hired on a conditional certificate, many are finding it challenging to pass the various praxis tests and find it challenging to work full time and gain the credits needed to be certified. To quantify this problem for HCPSS, during the 2022 reporting period, 144 conditionally certified teachers were hired. That number was 81 in 2021 and averaged 42 from 2018-2020. By the beginning of the 2022-23 school year, approximately one-third of the teachers hired with a conditional certificate during the previous four years had separated from employment with HCPSS.”

Kent – “Over the past seven years, teacher turnover has been the highest at the Secondary Level (grades 7-12). More specifically, the areas of special education, math, and science have been the hardest areas to retain high quality and diverse teachers. There are challenges associated with hiring and retaining high quality special education teachers. Special education teachers report challenges such as the amount of paperwork that is involved on a daily basis, taking away from effective co-planning time and leading to a lot of work being taken home, which contributes to teacher burnout. Over the past five years, KCPS has had multiple secondary special education vacancies each year.”

Montgomery – “The challenges associated with recruiting teachers in these areas are decreased enrollment in schools of education; increase in teachers retirements or separation to pursue other opportunities; increase in demand for teachers, nationally; and an increase in compensation and incentives, nationally. These factors have created a teacher shortage and a teacher’s market where teachers across all areas of certifications have many opportunities to pursue a career in education closer to their desired area.”

Prince George’s – The challenges for hiring teachers…are declining enrollment in Early Childhood and Elementary Teacher Education programs, both locally and nationally; capabilities of interested candidates to successfully complete MSDE certification requirements and/or pay for additional required courses needed to earn certification; the requirements of the state to hold dual certification (Special Education & Early Childhood) for teachers in the Early Childhood Centers; lack of teacher candidates due to decline in individuals enrolling in teacher preparation programs in higher education and in alternative preparation programs; recruiting and retaining enough eligible candidates with certification and experience in ESOL and Special Education; recruiting and retaining diverse teachers, particularly Hispanic/Latino, and male teacher candidates; cost of living in Maryland compared to surrounding localities such as Virginia and the District of Columbia.”

Queen Anne’s – “Historically, Secondary Science, Math, and World Languages have been the most critical areas and the hardest to find with fewer students entering these fields of study. With the current teacher shortage, we are now finding Special Education, Elementary, and Secondary positions in all levels are increasingly harder to recruit. The challenges associated with hiring in these areas stems from the decreased enrollment in teacher preparation programs at colleges and universities nationwide.”

St. Mary’s – “There are many factors that impact our ability to recruit prospective teachers. One of the major factors is our location. St. Mary’s County is rural and lacks any major attractions that would encourage recent graduates to begin their careers here. The median household income in 2021 was $102,859 (see census link), which is well above the starting salary of a teacher, making it difficult for single, recent graduates. Because of this high income, apartments and rentals are scarce and expensive. The average apartment price is $1,000 – $1,200, which is almost half of a new teachers monthly bring-home pay. Pax River Naval Air Station (NAVAIR) is our largest competitor. Often, teachers are attracted to government jobs and higher salaries that the government and its contractors can offer.”

Somerset – “The School System has struggled to hire and retain Art, World Language, Special Education, Secondary Math and Secondary English teachers. Challenges are lack of candidates specializing in these certification areas as well as the lack of area colleges graduating teacher candidates with these credentials.”

Talbot – “Until recently, TCPS has had success in ensuring that certified teachers each of our classrooms regardless of grade-level or content area. Historically the greatest challenge in securing qualified teachers has been in special education and secondary mathematics. The high demand for teachers in these two areas has impacted the number of qualified candidates available and lower salaries on the Eastern Shore has made it difficult to compete for candidates with higher paying districts. TCPS has engaged contractual special education positions when needed to secure adequate staffing or has maintained unfilled positions that would otherwise have allowed us to improve services. In secondary math, schedules have been combined to accommodate vacant math positions. TCPS has seen its greatest shortage of teachers in the 2022-2023 school year. Eight positions remain unfilled [with] two in special education, one ESOL, two high school math, two high school English, and one elementary position.”

Washington – “WCPS predicts we will continue to have vacancy needs, particularly in grade and subject areas in which industries requiring comparable skills (for example: math, science, foreign language, speech language pathologists) are more appealing due to benefits, compensation, and work environment and expectations.”

Two of the four challenges in the county schools include: “An increase in the number of students diagnosed with disabilities that qualify for special education. WCPS is seeing increases in autism diagnoses, impacts of the opioid crisis, and extreme behaviors due to environmental factors. Qualified staff, as well as college students, are reluctant to pursue careers in special education due to the increased needs, risks (injury), and increased litigious nature of special education,” and “6% of current WCPS teachers are eligible for retirement within the next three years.”

Wicomico – “The school system has struggled to recruit and hire secondary math, science, early childhood, and special education teachers. The challenges for hiring teachers in these areas are higher teacher turnover, extra course requirements for certification, and competitive salaries for other careers, particularly in math and science. Middle school positions are exceptionally difficult to fill. In the past two years, staff who left our district stated the top reasons for leaving were: #1 Family/personal reasons (41%), #2 Retirement (27%), and #3 Work/life balance (26%). While the role of a teacher has always been challenging, students are now further behind following the COVID pandemic, making the perception of the difficulties of teaching more pronounced. Combining this with the negative portrayal of the teaching profession through media sources, we are finding fewer candidates at hiring fairs as well as those graduating with degrees in education.”

Worcester – “When analyzing recent data and projecting future openings, it appears that Early Childhood and Elementary teachers will be the greatest need of the school district. Special Education teachers at all levels will also be a targeted area of recruitment. WCPS has drafted a Recruiting Plan for the current school year. The plan specifies recruitment fairs targeting critical needs areas. WCPS has been successful over the past four years with its own Teacher Recruitment Fair recruiting and hiring both novice and veteran teachers from around the Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia regions. This recruitment fair is intentionally scheduled for the second Saturday each March to get an early start over other school districts in our region.”

What’s next

The Blueprint documents turned in this month represent the first of three required implementation reports. The state Department of Education will review each plan and offer recommendations to the Blueprint board, which could make formal approvals on school system plans in May and June.

School officials must submit a second set of Blueprint plans due in March 2024 to highlight the four priorities through the 2026-27 school year.

A third and final submission would be due in 2027 to cover the school years between 2027-28 and 2031-32. State legislation requires that the Blueprint board, which will remain operative until fiscal year 2032, to approve any changes to the overall plan every year by Aug. 1.’

By William J. Ford

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

Filed Under: Ed Portal Lead, News Homepage, News Portal Highlights

Making Sense of the Mid-Shore 2022 Education Report Card

March 20, 2023 by P. Ryan Anthony Leave a Comment

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March 9 saw the release of the 2022 Maryland School Report Card, which is designed to help stakeholders measure student achievement in public schools throughout the state. In schools of the upper and mid-shore—Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s, and Talbot Counties—children’s Math and English Language Arts results were commendable for the most part. Nonetheless, some real challenges exist as well.

As communities around Maryland begin using the metric as an important data point, the Spy was eager to help our readers understand the history of the Maryland School Report Card and how to decipher yearly results.

Brief History

On December 10, 2015, President Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act, the federal K-12 education law that replaced No Child Left Behind. The ESSA laid out expectations of transparency for parents and communities and required every state to develop a concise and easily understandable “state report card” accessible online.

Each state submitted a consolidated plan detailing how the law would be implemented as well as how the state would hold schools accountable for student performance. In Maryland, parents, school personnel, superintendents, community leaders, advocacy groups, the Board of Education, and MSDE staff collaborated to create an accountability system that measured relevant, actionable aspects of school performance. The plan was submitted to the US Department of Education and approved in early 2018.

The first Maryland School Report Card was released later that year. The state was able to produce two years of report card school results (2018 and 2019) before the pandemic hit.

What’s in the Card

Each school has a report card that includes a star rating (one is lowest, five is highest), percentile rank, and total earned points percent. The data also includes student group separation of report card indicators, equity information, progress toward meeting targets to close achievement gaps, and improvement from the previous report card.

On average, a five-star school has a Math proficiency of 53.8% and an ELA proficiency of 71.8%. In a one-star school, Math proficiency is 1.1% while ELA proficiency is 6.3%.

Maryland Results Overall

Of the state’s 1,316 schools, 16% had five-star ratings, 32% had four-star ratings, 33% had three-star ratings, 16% had two-star ratings, and 3% had one-star ratings. This means that almost half of Maryland schools earned four or five stars.

Scores for the Mid-Shore

Among the twelve schools in Queen Anne’s County (7,440 students), 8% earned three stars while 58% earned four stars and 33% earned five stars. QAPS’s proficiency results were:

Elementary – 44.9% Math, 57.2% ELA
Middle –        23.8% Math, 59.1% ELA
High –           39.9% Math, 47.6% ELA

The eight schools in Talbot County (4,533 students) earned five stars (13%), four stars (50%), and three stars (38%). TCPS’s proficiency results were:

Elementary – 23% Math, 43% ELA
Middle –        13% Math, 39.9% ELA
High –           22.3% Math, 56.2% ELA

Caroline County’s nine public schools (5,551 students) earned either four stars (33%) or three stars (67%). CCPS’s proficiency results were:

Elementary – 24.6% Math, 44.1% ELA
Middle –        13.9% Math, 36.9% ELA
High –           21.7% Math, 46.7% ELA

The five schools in Kent County (1,786 students) earned either four stars (40%) or three stars (60%). KCPS’s proficiency results were:

Elementary – 20.5% Math, 35.4% ELA
Middle –          8.2% Math, 34.9% ELA
High –            21.4% Math, 48.4% ELA

In Dorchester County’s eleven schools (4,573 students), 27% earned four stars, 27% earned three stars, 36% earned two stars, and 9% earned one star. DCPS’s proficiency results were:

Elementary – 16.4% Math, 29.2% ELA
Middle –          9.4% Math, 27.8% ELA
High –            13.2% Math, 42.8% ELA

Graduation Rates

While Talbot County had the best graduation rate at 95%, it had fewer students enrolled than did Queen Anne’s, whose rate was 94.21%. The other rates were as follows: 92.65% for Kent, 85.21% for Caroline, and 81.57% for Dorchester.

Overall, Queen Anne’s County Public Schools displayed the highest performance of the counties analyzed, but second-place Talbot County saw improvement in English Language Arts scores since the last report card. Kent County also showed improvement in ELA, as did Dorchester County, the only one of the five to earn one or two stars (45%). However, DCPS significantly trailed everyone else, whose scores in both ELA and Math were in line with the state average.

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

Filed Under: Ed Homepage, Ed Portal Lead, Spy Top Story

Kent County Public Schools Attack the School-to-Prison Pipeline

March 6, 2023 by James Dissette Leave a Comment

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For decades, Black male youths have experienced serious achievement gaps in nationwide public schools, a trend that contributes to high young Black men’s permanent unemployment and incarceration rates. 

Often called “the school-to-prison pipeline,” Black juveniles are frequently subject to the blunt force of court referrals to discipline kids and throw them into a perpetual cycle of the juvenile correction system. The message becomes, “you don’t matter; we don’t see you.”

While Kent schools don’t follow State and national trends for law enforcement interventions and suspensions, last year’s student assessment showed that “Black boys were being sent to the principal or having parent conferences called at higher rates than other groups.”

The reasons for this achievement gap are many, including lack of social, emotional, and behavioral support, an absence of Black male teachers, and no clear policy to address the disparities in the educational experience of Black male students.

In May of 2021, the Maryland Board of Education came up with a strategic plan to counter the achievement gaps in Maryland schools: Transforming the Culture of Maryland’s Schools for Black Boys, for Maryland educators while also initiating “The Task Force on Achieving Academic Equity and Excellence for Black Boys (AAEEBB),” a study group who sought “national and local best practices to inform actionable recommendations and solutions to any potential barriers.

These studies resulted in the creation of a pilot program offered to Maryland counties that wanted to participate. Currently, 14 county pilot programs are part of the initiative, including Kent Middle School and High School.

Organized initially by Dr. Angela Holocker, coordinator of student services for Kent County Public Schools and interim principal at Kent Middle School, Kent schools are fully implementing the grant-funded program and have partnered with Minary’s Dream Alliance along with mentors Harold Somerville and Antoine Reed Sr., both of whom participated in last year’s Kent mentoring program funded by the AAEEBB grant.

Currently, about 36 students at KCHS and Middle School are enrolled in the program.

The coordination between Kent school pilot programs and Minary’s Dream Alliance is a natural fit. Their missions overlap, each fostering a positive academic experience to counter the historical disparities Black males experience in education by providing mentorships, study hall areas, book club activities and other shared events.

The Spy recently attended one of the KCHS mentoring meetings where Paul Tue, Harold Somerville, Antoine Reid Sr., Tilise Brown, and student Jamarcus Downs talked about the program, passed out books, discussed Black history, and prepared for an AAEEBB convention in Baltimore in April, complete with session measuring the boys for suits for the occasion.

This video is approximately seven minutes in length. For more about the Transforming the Culture of Maryland’s Schools for Black Boys initiative, please go here.

 

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

Filed Under: Ed Portal Lead, Ed Portal Lead, News Homepage, News Portal Highlights

Dorchester Public Schools and Blueprint for Maryland’s Future: A Chat with Superintendent Dave Bromwell

March 6, 2023 by Dave Wheelan 1 Comment

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It seems like it’s always a positive thing when your public school superintendent has had some former tie with their school district before being in this significant leadership position. But rarely is it the case when that superintendent has not only spent their entire professional career in a county’s schools but attended those same schools starting in the first grade through high school. And it is more frequent than one might guess that those rising to these positions come with a teaching background in the system before being appointed.

But that is indeed the case with Dorchester County’s Superintendent David Bromwell’s remarkable story. From elementary school until he entered college, David’s journey has allowed him to see not only some of Dorchester County’s best days but also some of its most challenging in a lifetime of being a student and educator.

That long view has clearly helped Bromwell as he now enters his third year as the chief executive of the county’s schools. And it also has given him a particular perspective on where DCPS has been and where it needs to go as the superintendent works with the local school board and his staff to implement the state’s massive education reform act, commonly known as Blueprint for Maryland’s Future.

For David, the challenges facing the DSPS have certainly been fully impacted by the COVID years and the significant toll it took on students across the country. Nonetheless, Bromwell is clear that for him and many teachers who have served with him over decades, the greatest impact that the school district was the loss of significant industries like Airpax Corporation and Western Publishing, which resulted in the county’s loss of almost 15,000 well-paying jobs and the eventual loss of students entering Dorchester schools it caused.

In the Spy’s first interview with Superintendent Bromwell, he talks about some of those changes and his concerns as the school district begins the Blueprint’s new vision and works closely with the County Council and the State to make sure Dorchester County can fund this transformational moment.

This video is approximately 12 minutes in length. For more information about Dorchester County Public Schools please go here.

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

Filed Under: Ed Homepage, Ed Portal Lead, News Homepage

Addressing the Workforce Shortage Crisis: A Chat with Chesapeake College President Cliff Coppersmith

February 28, 2023 by The Spy Leave a Comment

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Every time the Spy prepares to interview Chesapeake College president Cliff Coppersmith, we anticipate that the final video will be around five minutes. But since we began interviewing Cliff in 2018, we’ve never succeeded in that modest goal.

The reason is that President Coppersmith has a special way of taking a subject like dual enrollment, for example, and makes it sound so dang engaging. This unique skill was no doubt developed while he was still a college history professor early in his career.

With our most current chat, Coppersmith applies that skill to the challenges related to workforce education, and he doesn’t hesitate to use the word “crisis” in the same sentence. Up and down the Eastern Shore, there is an unprecedented gap between high-paying trade job openings and qualified young people to fill those positions.

This sobering dilemma is finally getting real attention from the federal and state governments, not to mention the five Mid-Shore counties that support Chesapeake College. With a new stream of project support grants at all levels, the Wye Mills community college has never been more serious in recruiting, educating, and sending into the workforce some of our best non-college-bound teenagers a real chance to live and work where they grew up.

This video is approximately nine minutes in length. For more information about Chesapeake College please go here.

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

Filed Under: Ed Homepage, Ed Portal Lead, Spy Top Story

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