Maryland

News, analysis, and opinion about K-12 education in Maryland
School buses sit in a lot on Feb. 6, 2024, in Virginia Beach, Va.
School buses sit in a lot on Feb. 6, 2024, in Virginia Beach, Va. School districts are again struggling to find enough bus drivers for the 2024-25 school year.
Tom Brenner/AP
School & District Management Schools Don't Have Enough Bus Drivers to Start the School Year—Again
Bus driver shortages have worsened nationwide since 2020. Many districts are still scrambling to find enough people to transport students.
Mark Lieberman, August 15, 2024
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6 min read
Third graders listen at the start of Lindsey Wuest's Science As Art class, at A.D. Henderson School in Boca Raton, Fla., on April 16, 2024.
Third graders listen at the start of Lindsey Wuest's Science As Art class, at A.D. Henderson School in Boca Raton, Fla., on April 16, 2024.
Rebecca Blackwell/AP
Reading & Literacy Why Do Literacy Retention Policies Target 3rd Grade?
Literacy-related retention policies typically hold back students at the end of 3rd grade. Education experts offer insights into why.
Elizabeth Heubeck, August 12, 2024
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5 min read
Student who is upset with head down at the steps of a school.
Roman Bodnarchuk/iStock/Getty
Equity & Diversity What Happened When a State Banned Suspensions for Young Students
A statewide ban on suspension for some learners successfully reduced its use—but some students were still disproportionately affected.
Brooke Schultz, August 1, 2024
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6 min read
Fourth-grader Sammiayah Thompson, left, and her brother third-grader Nehemiah Thompson work outside in their yard on laptops provided by their school system for distant learning, in Hartford, Conn., on June 5, 2020.
Fourth-grader Sammiayah Thompson, left, and her brother third-grader Nehemiah Thompson work outside in their yard on laptops provided by their school system for distance learning, in Hartford, Conn., on June 5, 2020. Some districts kept virtual programs as an option after schools reopened, but many of those are now considering cuts to them as budgets tighten.
Jessica Hill/AP
School & District Management Districts’ Virtual Programs Are on the Chopping Block as ESSER Ends
Although usually small in enrollment, virtual programs have been an important option for some students.
Caitlynn Peetz, June 25, 2024
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6 min read
Image of high school students working together in a school setting.
E+/Getty
Recruitment & Retention What the Research Says 4 Keys to Building a Pipeline From High School to the Teaching Profession
A statewide career-tech program in Maryland shows promise to expand and diversify the pool of new educators. Here's how.
Sarah D. Sparks, June 6, 2024
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5 min read
This Oct. 4, 2018, photo shows the U.S. Supreme Court at sunset in Washington. The Supreme Court has declined to take up an appeal from parents in Oregon who want to prevent transgender students from using locker rooms and bathrooms of the gender with which they identify, rather than their sex assigned at birth.
This Oct. 4, 2018, photo shows the U.S. Supreme Court at sunset in Washington. The court has declined to take up an appeal from parents in Maryland challenging a school district's policy on gender-support plans for students.
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
Law & Courts Supreme Court Turns Down Case Challenging School District's Transgender Policies
The case involves a policy allowing information to be withheld from parents considered not supportive of a gender-transitioning child.
Mark Walsh, May 20, 2024
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3 min read
A pedestrian passes by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals Courthouse, June 16, 2021, on Main Street in Richmond, Va.
A person walks near the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit's courthouse in Richmond, Va. A panel of the court denied an injunction seeking to restore religious parents' opportunity to opt their children out of LGBTQ+ "storybooks" in a Maryland district.
Steve Helber/AP
Law & Courts District Can Deny Opt-Outs on LGBTQ+ Books, Court Rules
Religious parents objected to a Maryland district's policy ending opt-outs for elementary school 'storybooks' with LGBTQ+ themes.
Mark Walsh, May 15, 2024
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5 min read
From left, David Banks, chancellor of New York Public schools, speaks next to Karla Silvestre, President of the Montgomery Count (Md.) Board of Education, Emerson Sykes, Staff Attorney with the ACLU, and Enikia Ford Morthel, Superintendent of the Berkeley United School District, during a hearing on antisemitism in K-12 public schools, at the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, on May 8, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
From left, David Banks, chancellor of New York City schools, speaks next to Karla Silvestre, president of the Montgomery County, Md., school board; Emerson Sykes, staff attorney with the ACLU; and Enikia Ford Morthel, superintendent of the Berkeley Unified school district in Berkeley, Calif., during a hearing on antisemitism in K-12 public schools, at the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, on May 8, 2024, in Washington.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Federal K-12 Leaders Denounce Antisemitism But Reject That It's Rampant in Schools
Three school district leaders said they're committed to rooting out antisemitism during a hearing in Congress.
Libby Stanford, May 8, 2024
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6 min read
Dr. Carey Wright, the interim state superintendent for Maryland, discusses improving literacy instruction and achievement with Stephen Sawchuk, an assistant managing editor for Education Week, during the 2024 Leadership Symposium in Arlington, Va. on Friday, May 3, 2024.
Carey Wright, the state superintendent for Maryland, discusses improving literacy instruction and achievement during Education Week's Leadership Symposium in Arlington, Va., on May 3, 2024.
Sam Mallon/Education Week
Reading & Literacy The Key Parts of a 'Science of Reading' Transformation, According to One State Chief
Under Carey Wright's leadership, Mississippi pulled off a reading "miracle." She has a similar transformation in mind for Maryland.
Libby Stanford, May 6, 2024
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6 min read
Jacqueline Chaney ask her 2nd graders a question during class at New Town Elementary School in Owings Mills, Md., on Oct. 25, 2023.
Jacqueline Chaney ask her 2nd graders a question during class at New Town Elementary School in Owings Mills, Md., on Oct. 25, 2023.
Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
Teaching Profession The State of Teaching The 'Difficult, Beautiful' Work of Teaching
From sunup to sundown, America's teachers grapple with countless decisions, interruptions, joys, and frustrations.
Madeline Will, Elizabeth Heubeck, Ileana Najarro, Arianna Prothero & Sarah Schwartz, March 6, 2024
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26 min read
Saxon Brown, a first-year teacher, leads his 9th grade honors English students through a lesson on To Kill A Mockingbird at Bel Air High School in Bel Air, Md., on Jan. 25, 2024.
Saxon Brown, a first-year teacher, leads his 9th grade honors English students through a lesson at Bel Air High School in Bel Air, Md., on Jan. 25, 2024.
Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
Teaching Profession In Their Own Words 'Why Doesn't Everybody Want to Do This?': A New Teacher's Midyear Reflection
Twenty-two-year-old Saxon Brown talks honestly about the challenges and rewards he's encountered in his first year on the job.
Elizabeth Heubeck, January 26, 2024
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5 min read
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul reads "Snowflakes Fall" to daycare children at the Department of Labor on Dec. 20, 2023, in Albany, N.Y. Hochul on Jan. 3, 2024, said she will push for schools to reemphasize phonics in literacy education programs, a potential overhaul that comes as many states revamp curriculums amid low reading scores.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul reads "Snowflakes Fall" to day-care children at the Department of Labor on Dec. 20, 2023, in Albany, N.Y. Hochul on Jan. 3, 2024, said she will push for schools to reemphasize phonics in literacy programs. New York is one of several states introducing new reading plans or proposals in 2024.
Will Waldron/The Albany Times Union via AP
Reading & Literacy The 'Science of Reading' in 2024: 5 State Initiatives to Watch
These actions join a mounting tide of reading legislation across the country.
Sarah Schwartz, January 25, 2024
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6 min read
Second grade teacher Jacqueline Chaney works with students during a small groups reading activity at New Town Elementary School in Owings Mills, Md., on Oct. 25, 2023.
Jacqueline Chaney works with her 2nd grade students during a small-group reading activity at New Town Elementary School in Owings Mills, Md., on Oct. 25, 2023.
Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
Reading & Literacy Q&A How This Teacher Sparks a Love of Reading for Pleasure
A 2nd grade teacher shares her tips for hooking students on reading for pleasure.
Elizabeth Heubeck, January 15, 2024
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5 min read
Monterey High's Tyvonte' Cornish (94) tackles Odessa High's Ivan Miranda (13) by a shirt tail in the fourth quarter. Odessa High School played Monterey High at Ratliff Stadium in Odessa, Texas, on Aug. 30, 2019.
Monterey High School student Tyvonte' Cornish, left, tackles Ivan Miranda, of Odessa High School, in Odessa, Texas, on Aug. 30, 2019.
Mark Rogers/Odessa American via AP
Recruitment & Retention Athletic Trainers Are Often Missing From the Sidelines in School Sports
Advocates say athletic trainers are in short supply, despite efforts to require schools to keep them on hand.
Elizabeth Heubeck, November 30, 2023
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5 min read
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