Baltimore County Superintendent Myriam Rogers supports Governor Wes Moore’s proposal to delay giving teachers extra collaboration time under the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future.
In a press conference Tuesday, Rogers said offering additional in-school hours for lesson planning and professional development takes key resources that state and local districts don’t have right now.
“Either you have to hire more teachers, which we know there's a national teacher shortage, or you have to have fewer class sections, which means higher class sizes,” she said. “Being a former chemistry teacher, I know that there was a difference when I had 25 students in my class versus 34 students.”
Moore called for a revised version of the multi-billion-dollar education package in his address last week to the Maryland Association of Counties. According to reporting from the Baltimore Banner, he said he wants districts to focus on recruiting and retaining teachers first.
Rogers said this is especially important as students exhibit “rising needs in our classes.”
“We want every opportunity that teachers can have to meet with them and give them that individualized instruction to be realized,” she said.
In late November, the Public School Superintendent Association of Maryland sent a letter to Moore and other state leaders urging legislative and policy changes to the Blueprint to make its implementation more feasible and effective.
“The Blueprint’s goals are achievable, but the implementation needs to be streamlined and realistic with clearer expectations and guidance from State leaders,” the letter said. “The Blueprint tends to have a one-size approach that does not ‘fit all,’ especially in districts that were previously demonstrating efficiency and excellence in many areas.”
The proposed changes span each of the Blueprint’s five pillars, calling for eliminating requirements for a “mixed delivery” pre-K system of equally public and private providers and suspending career ladder requirements until the end of this year’s legislative session.
Rogers said many of these asks stem from uncertainty about the state’s budget — which is facing a $2.7 billion one-year deficit.
“We put forward a letter to the governor, wanting to work in partnership to make the necessary changes, knowing that the fiscal crisis was upon us,” Rogers said. “Part of pausing the collaboration time is a response to that.”
In late November, Maryland’s Spending and Affordability Committee reported that state funds set aside for the Blueprint are expected to fully run out by 2028.
