State and local education leaders say they’ve seen success in implementing the multi-billion-dollar Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, an education funding plan, over the past year.

In a legislative hearing Friday, the state education department and Blueprint Accountability and Implementation board shared strides made in teacher certification, career readiness standards, and student services.

“We’ve made tremendous progress, despite a slow start, despite some initial challenges,” said Isaiah Leggett, chair of the implementation board. “We need the Blueprint because our scores in math and literacy are dismal. And we have to change that.”

Some of that work is well underway, officials said. Seven hundred teachers gained National Board Certification this year, bringing the state total to over 3,100. And 99 community schools began offering wraparound services to students and their families, totaling over 450 nationwide.

The implementation board also approved all local districts’ initial implementation plans this summer, and completed a study on career and college readiness standards.

But lawmakers raised concerns about barriers in implementing full-day pre-K programs for low-income families – especially the lack of private provider participation.

Rachel Hise, executive director of the implementation board, said that all local districts but one requested a waiver for achieving 35-percent of full-day programs in the private sector.

“We know there isn't enough space in the school systems to be able to have all of the four-year-olds and low-income three-year-olds in full-day pre-K. And so using private providers to meet that need was part of the vision,” Hise said.

But the pandemic effects on childcare have left the business model for even private practices suffering, she said.

“As the full day pre-K funding ramps up – it's phased in over time and it increases – that's going to help make the business model work better,” Hise said. Per-pupil funding will increase from $1,100 to $1,900 by 2030.

But Delegate Courtney Watson said actual costs in Howard County are already outpacing those numbers.

“The current full-day daycare costs in our county now are $1,800 to $2,500,” she said. “The per-pupil funding is not enough to incentivize private providers.”

Interim State Superintendent Carey Wright said in response to lawmakers’ questions, she will organize a presentation from daycare experts on her team.

What comes next? 

Many key steps in the implementation process are scheduled to roll out this year, officials said.

Career and college readiness standards for all tenth grade students will be adopted. A committee on special education will present results of their year-long work in December. The sliding scale model for pre-K funding and new career ladders for teachers will also be finalized.

Local districts also face more pushes to implement “science of reading” curricula, like submitting literacy implementation plans to the board by June 2024.

Wright said the state department of education will produce a guide and hold training sessions to help districts navigate the shift.

The science of reading strategy focuses on phonics and “decoding” words, and less on guesswork from pictures and context clues typical to other reading curricula, Wright said.

“The problem is that children don’t learn to read by guessing,” she said. “The next time I come across a word…and there’s nothing there to help me, that’s where it all falls down.”

Wright also said the state department will be working with higher education leaders to make sure aspiring teachers are being trained in the science of reading methods.

Chair Leggett said as implementation continues to roll out, people need to remember that a lot is going to change – ideally for the better.

“There’s no way for us to continue to do the things we’ve traditionally done, maintain the status quo, and adopt virtually all of the elements of the Blueprint,” he said.