Gov. Wes Moore claimed in a 2006 document that he earned a Bronze Star for his service in Afghanistan,  a medal that he never received, according to a report Thursday in The New York Times.

While questions have been raised before about claims that Moore had a Bronze Star, he has always insisted that the claim was made by others, but not by him.

But in a 2006 application to the White House Fellowship program unearthed by The Times, Moore claimed that as a result of his work as a director of information operations during the war in Afghanistan, “the 82nd Airborne Division have awarded me the Bronze Star Medal and the Combat Action Badge.”

His resume with that application also claimed that Moore, then a captain in the Army, had received the Maryland College Football Hall of Fame Award. There is no such award.

Both misstatements were explained away in the Times’ story by Moore’s superiors at the time — his commanding officer in Afghanistan and a coach on the Johns Hopkins University football team, where Moore was a player — as additions they insisted he make, on the expectation that he would receive the honors.

In a statement Thursday in response to the article, Moore said he was sorry he had not spoken up before this to correct the record. But he also went on the offensive, saying he would “once again, set the record straight, as people hunt for new ways to undermine my service to our country in uniform.”

“Over the last few weeks, our country has grown used to seeing what it looks like when a veteran’s integrity is attacked for political gain,” said the statement from Moore, who has been called on in recent weeks as a proxy to defend Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz over questions about Walz’s military record.

“It was an honest mistake, and I regret not making that correction,” Moore said about the claim of having earned a Bronze Star. “But do not think for a moment that this attack on my record holds any bearing on how I feel about my service, my soldiers, or our country.”

This is not the first time questions have been raised about Moore’s military record. In past interviews, with Gwen Ifill and Stephen Colbert, Moore was introduced as a Bronze Star recipient and he did not correct the misstatements, according to the Times.

Questions about the Bronze Star also came up during Moore’s 2022 campaign for governor, and he insisted at the time that he had never claimed himself to have won the award, only that he failed to correct the mistake in others.

“Of the hundreds of interviews that I have given, the idea of pulling together a couple where I did not correct a reporter or correct an interviewer, it just continues to highlight a measure of desperation in the attacks,” Moore said during an April 2022 campaign event.

Moore told the Times that he forgot he had claimed on his White House Fellowship application to have won the Bronze Star, and that it was a surprise to him when he saw the paperwork this week.

The reaction from Maryland elected officials who had seen the story, including some who are military veterans, was similar to Moore’s explanation: It was a simple mistake that Moore compounded by not correcting it in the intervening years, they said.

Sen. William C. Smith Jr. (D-Montgomery County), a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve, noted that it was Lt. Gen. Michael Fenzel, who was a lieutenant colonel and Moore’s superior in Afghanistan at the time of the White House application, who told Moore to put the Bronze Star on his application.

Fenzel told the Times that while the medal had not been awarded at the time, he and every other officer who needed to sign off on the award had done so, and he assumed it was coming through. Fenzel said he only learned this week that the medal was not awarded.

“When you’re evaluating someone, you should make sure you understand the full record,” Smith said Thursday of the latest furor. “As you look at the full record, you see a brigade commander signed him off to get [Moore] processed.

“He has been cleared all the way through for that. He has not misrepresented his record in any form or fashion,”  said Smith, the chair of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee.

Most of Moore’s defenders focused on his service and said that should be weighed against the Bronze Star claim.

Sen. Nick Charles (D-Prince George’s), who served in the Air Force from 2001 to 2006, defended Moore in an Instagram post.

“While on Active Duty in the Air Force. I served with some brave men and women. Now, here at home I’m proud to serve and stand with a brave Governor, @iamwesmoore. Wes, we are with you, and you have air cover from me,” Charles’ post said.

Other Democrats rallied around the governor.

Del. Diana M. Fennell (D-Prince George’s), a member of the legislature’s Veterans Caucus, said Thursday that she had not looked closely into the issue, but trusts Moore’s account.

“I believe whatever he said, because he’s such a wonderful person,” she said. “He was in the military and that’s what matters.”

Smith called Moore not only “a veteran who has served in a combat zone putting his life on the line, but he has been the most pro-veteran governor we have ever had.”

“He has used his position as governor to further the interest of all veterans in Maryland. Not only did he put his life on the line leading troops in a combat zone, but he’s now continuing to serve veterans,” Smith said. “To my mind, he’s a patriot and his service should be honored and commended.”

But Doug Mayer, a political strategist with Strategic Partners and Media, said that while the Bronze Star on the White House application may be a minor infraction, it “could speak to his [Moore’s] character” in a larger way. Mayer, who served as communications director for former Gov. Larry Hogan (R), pointed to other questions that have been raised about Moore, including claims that his memoir, “The Other Wes Moore,” exaggerated the amount of time he spent in Baltimore growing up.

“What I hope this does, for everyone’s sake, is rip off the Band-Aid of invincibility and nonsense that surrounds this guy,” Mayer said.

State Senate Minority Leader Stephen Hershey (R-Upper Shore) said questions of Moore’s integrity are a concern — but not the biggest concern he has with the Democratic governor.

“Honestly, I’m more concerned about how he’s governing the State of Maryland than I am about this,” Hershey said in a text message Thursday.

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Parents would be able to let their children advance to the fourth grade, even if they failed to meet reading standards that would otherwise lead to them being held back, under a proposed revision to the state’s controversial literacy program.

The change, reviewed Tuesday by the state Board of Education, comes as parents and advocates have filed nearly 1,000 comments in response to the literacy plan unveiled last month, and its proposal to retain third graders who are not reading at level.

“The amount of feedback that we’ve gotten, not just through the website, but we’ve received personal emails, written letters,” said Deann Collins, deputy state superintendent in the department’s Office of Teaching and Learning. “The time that folks have taken to say thank you is remarkable,

“We just wanted to make sure people know that we are listening. We will continue to listen,” Collins said.

Under the change outlined Tuesday, a parent or guardian who did not want their child held back in third grade could insist that the child be allowed to advance – but would have to agree to additional support for the student, such as a summer school program, before- or after-school tutoring, or other instructions “that take place outside of the school day.”

The policy comes as the state seeks to boost student achievement, which ranks 40th in the nation on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known at the Nation’s Report Card. The goal is to put Maryland in the top 10 by 2027.

Prior to the discussion of the literacy program Tuesday, the board reviewed preliminary test results from the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program, which showed 48.1% of students achieved proficiency scores in English language arts in the last school year.

Collins and other state education officials stressed that the full policy doesn’t simply focus on the third grade, but includes reading intervention and other literacy programs and activities starting in kindergarten.

Some of the revisions include emphasizing promotion and retention based on state guidance, ensuring partnerships with families on the student reading improvement plan and including pre-service training for future teachers.

State Superintendent Carey Wright said the goal is to present a final literacy program plan to the school board for approval in September. Under that timeline, if the policy is approved it would start to be implemented in the next school year, and the retention part of the plan would not kick in until the 2026-27 school year.

An ‘error’

Before the plan comes back, a few school board members would like to see some changes.

School board member Joan Mele-McCarthy said she hopes instructional support is done during the school day.

“When you get kids after school, not everyone is an eager beaver to do after school work,” said Mele-McCarthy, executive director of The Summit School in Anne Arundel County. “They should be playing baseball or going to dance lessons or playing outside or riding bikes. So, I struggle with that, and encourage us to figure out ways to get the instruction done during school.”

Nick Greer, the parent representative on the board from Baltimore, recommended changing the word “waiver” to “informed consent” for parents and guardians.

“I think what should come from this is that the positions of schools and the professionals to be able to make a recommendation in the same way that a doctor would, or a team of medical professionals would,” he said. “It provides parents with the risks to saying yes and the risks to saying no. I think that those pieces of information should be provided from the state, not from the LEA [local education agency, or school district].”

Susan Getty, who expressed concerns with the policy last month, did so again Tuesday, saying the policy has an “error” by not including prekindergarten education.

“First of all, we’re not a K [kindergarten] through 12 school system. We are pre-K through 12 system,” said Getty, who taught prekindergarten and kindergarten for 35 years. “So, it gives a special opportunity to add another whole year of instruction and intervention that I think we can’t ignore.”

Some of the remarks made by former principals, education advocates, PTA officials and parents said the policy would negatively affect students of color, those from low-income families and multilingual learners.

Michelle Corkadel, president of the Maryland Association of Boards of Education, said retaining students would also decrease a student’s confidence, learning and other factors.

“Moreover, students retained in elementary grades are more likely to be suspended in subsequent years, facing bullying and exhibit bullying behavior,” she said.

Phelton Moss, a professor of education policy and leadership at American University in Washington, D.C., and a Prince George’s County resident, said the policy implemented in Mississippi where he worked is “even stronger.” Wright, who served as Mississippi superintendent before coming to Maryland, confirmed after the meeting she worked there with Moss.

“However, I must emphasize the importance of state investment and the resources necessary for full implementation,” Moss said, while testifying virtually. “With adequate support, including state assigned literacy coaching and comprehensive teacher training, we can avoid falling short of our goals and potentially harming students who need help.”

For those who didn’t get to comment Tuesday, the department plans to post the revised policy on its website with a comment form people can fill out.

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: editor@marylandmatters.org. Follow Maryland Matters on Facebook and X.

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When Maryland public schools welcome nearly 890,000 students back to classes in the coming days, it will also be the beginning of year three of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, the state’s sweeping education reform plan.

But the plan’s future is suddenly up in the air, as state and local lawmakers are raising new concerns about its costs in a time of budget uncertainty.

That was highlighted last weekend, when Gov. Wes Moore (D) told a gathering of county leaders the plan may need to be refined due to pending fiscal challenges. Moore said he supports the goals of the Blueprint but the challenge now is “to address our fiscal challenges … and right now, everything is on the table.”

But Paul Lemle hopes the state stays the course.

“It’s a once-in-a-generation investment in our students and our educators. So, it makes no sense that people would say it’s not a good thing, or blame it for some other problem,” said Lemle, a Howard County  high school social studies teacher who began a three-year term this month as president of the Maryland State Education Association.

“The bad part of it is when you hear local elected officials saying, ‘Our budgets are tighter. We can’t afford it.’ That’s wrong,” Lemle said Monday, while in Chicago for the Democratic National Convention. “It’s a really short-sighted perspective because the Blueprint is doing exactly what it is intended to do – improve educator salaries, put more people into the profession, hire more of them.”

The Blueprint law passed in 2020, but was vetoed by then-Gov. Larry Hogan (R). The General Assembly overrode his veto in 2021, but implementation was pushed back a year because of COVID-19 school closures.

The education plan is based on five priorities, or pillars: hiring and retaining high-quality and diverse teachers, early childhood education, providing additional resources for students in need, preparing students for college and technical careers, and governance and accountability.

Some aspects of the Blueprint have already been implemented, such as an increase in prekindergarten enrollment and more high school students able to take local college courses for free, a plan known as dual enrollment.

But local school officials for months have outlined challenges in implementing the Blueprint, such as funding, diversifying teacher workforce and the need for more flexibility from the state to continue implementing the 10-year plan.

And county government leaders joined in last week at the Maryland Association of Counties conference, where high costs and inflexibility of the plan were mentioned frequently.

“Between state revenues, between fund balances getting lower, it’s going to be more and more cataclysmic without course corrections on the way,” Dorchester County Councilman Michael Detmer (R) said during a Saturday session. He said he is skeptical the Blueprint’s supporters will readily agree to changes.

A Thursday session on the Blueprint’s early childhood pillar – which includes a requirement that school districts provide a mixed-delivery system to serve students in both public schools and private child care centers – brought a plea for flexibility.

“No matter what the issue is, one size never fits all and pre-k is a great example of that,” said Del. Jefferson Ghrist (R-Upper Shore), who moderated the discussion. Ghrist voted against the Blueprint three years ago, but said he does support the early childhood part of the plan.

Better collaboration

Erin Doolittle, a prekindergarten teacher at Hillcrest Elementary in Frederick County, agrees that one size doesn’t fit all. But she said that she likes what she’s seen of the Blueprint so far.

Doolittle said the Blueprint has provided additional support for her school, where she’s entering her 21st year teaching, like the requirement to have a coordinator in schools designated as community schools. For her school, the coordinator organized a weekly afternoon gathering with families this summer at a local park, where children read books, practiced the alphabet and did other activities. Doolittle said parents could also receive information about transit services in the county.

Hillcrest serves as a community school that partners with local organizations to help teachers as well as parents and students’ families. Last school year, Doolittle said at least 75% of her 20 students spoke English as a second language at home.

As Doolittle prepared her classroom Monday for classes that began Wednesday, there were colorful phrases in English and Spanish posted around the room, such as “Nadie es como tú y ese es tu poder” – or “No one is like you and that is your power” in English.

“I think with the community schools coordinator, we’re being intentional about how we’re integrating the community and helping the community, rather than just kind of throwing things out there and hoping something helps,” she said. “We’ve always served as a community school, but the Blueprint has improved collaboration tremendously.”

In Doolittle’s room, she has several stations for reading, art and a carpet for morning meetings next to a full-size touchscreen board. Besides recognizing letters and numbers, social skills are a key component in prekindergarten, like learning to ask for help, being able to work with others and showing patience while waiting for a teacher to acknowledge them.

Since children are 3 and 4 years old, they take daily naps, or rest time, for about an hour. The goal is to get that down to about 40 minutes near the end of the school year, Doolittle said, so students’ bodies and minds are able to handle kindergarten.

“I think pre-k is kind of this very nebulous thing. What we’re doing is very, very different,” Doolittle said. “They’re singing and dancing and learning. There’s a lot going on, but it’s fun.”

Doolittle’s advice for state lawmakers and other officials to improve the Blueprint: “Just come and visit the classroom. See what’s going on. Then you’ll see how it really works.”

‘Still learning the Blueprint’

Unlike Doolittle, Michelle Early, calls herself “a career changer.” She worked in nonprofit management, retail management and for one year at a bank before settling on teaching. She is beginning her fourth year this week as a business teacher at Frederick County’s Walkersville High School.

“I’m still learning the Blueprint,” she said Tuesday in her classroom, where she was getting ready for the start of classes Wednesday.

But Early, who teaches students in grades nine through 12, said the Blueprint has given her students more opportunities for college and career readiness. For those who may not want to enroll in free community college courses, Early said the school offers field trips to visit local businesses. Students can also get certified in a particular industry and get a job prior or after high school graduation.

“I see the excitement level on those students faces,” Early said. “Some aren’t or don’t want to go to college, but having another option for them makes all the difference.”

One part of the law she appreciates is increasing teacher starting salaries to $60,000 by July 2026. Early said she’s fortunate to work down the street from her school, but knows of other teachers who work in the county and live in Washington County or even Pennsylvania, because they cannot afford to live in Frederick County.

“Our wages are not enough. We go beyond the 35-to-40-hour work week,” she said. “This is beneficial for educators.”

One aspect of the Blueprint she’s still trying to grasp encourages teachers to earn national board certification, which recognizes them as “accomplished,” or experts in a certain area.

Every school district in the state has at least one teacher with that designation. But the state Department of Education said in a teacher workforce report in May that slightly more than 1,200, or 74%, of Maryland teachers designated as National Board Certified were concentrated in Anne Arundel, Howard, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.

The report notes more than 3,000 teachers during the previous school year of 2023-24 registered to receive “fee support” to pursue the certification. Once certified, teachers are eligible for a $10,000 raise, with an additional $7,000 for those who teach at an “identified low-performing school.”

Early thinks educators who pursue continuing education should be rewarded just the same as those who seek national board certification.

“As a teacher, I can see the importance of national board certification. Michelle, the person, I don’t see that a national board certification should be more important than someone who works at [earning] a doctorate,” she said. “Shouldn’t we as educators compensate that person in an equitable manner for having achieved that doctoral status, just as we are compensating someone who’s doing national board certification?”

Lemle, the teacher’s union president, said national board certification for a teacher improves the quality of instruction in the classroom by providing teachers with “incentives to stay in the classroom instead of … becoming administrators or leaving a classroom for other positions.”

“That’s why it’s money so well spent for our kids because we’re improving teacher quality and keeping them [teachers] in the classroom,” he said.

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: editor@marylandmatters.org. Follow Maryland Matters on Facebook and X.

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The ACLU’s Jay Stanley acknowledges that he’s paid “to think about the ways this could go wrong” – but he said he’s thought of 10 issues that communities should be concerned about before they let their local police use drones to respond to calls.

Drone supporters said that they understand the concerns, but that police use of drones can help departments stretch their resources and improve their response times, while installing safeguards to protect peoples’ privacy rights.

That was the debate that played out at a session on drones at a Maryland Association of Counties session Wednesday morning at the association’s summer conference in Ocean City.

Supporting viewpoints came from Montgomery County Councilmember Dawn Luedtke (D) and Montgomery County Police Lt. Tony Galladora, who talked about the county’s “Drone as First Responder” program that began last year.

The county’s use of the device, also known as an “unmanned aerial vehicle,” is limited to downtown Silver Spring and Wheaton. Galladora said those two areas were chosen because of “high service calls” for burglaries, assaults and other offenses.

Using the drone, officers can see live images of a scene and track the movement of people from above.

From November 2023 when it began through June 30 of this year, according to county data presented Wednesday, the drone program was most often used to respond to calls for theft/larceny (35% of the time); suspicious circumstances, person or vehicle (14%); and assault (12%). During that time frame, drones responded to nearly 1,100 calls.

With a decrease in officers at the department, Luedtke said, the use of a drone allows officers to tend to more serious situations, or do other work.

The department ensured that cameras are not on until the drone reaches its destination. Luedtke said that was a response to public meetings and community concerns “about wanting the cameras only to start recording once it arrived on site.”

“So while the drone is in flight out to its destination, the cameras are pointed upward and they are not on,” she said. “That was the direct result of community feedback.”

Luedtke said the county plans to expand into Gaithersburg, Germantown and Montgomery Village, although it is not known exactly when that will happen. She also said Montgomery County is the biggest jurisdiction in the nation to operate a drone program, which costs about $200,000 that includes $35,000 for a drone and software.

The cost is just one of the factors for officials to consider, said Stanley, senior policy analyst with the national American Civil Liberties Union’s Speech, Privacy and Technology Project. Communities need to determine whether that money could be best used elsewhere, he said.

More law enforcement agencies could implement similar drone programs thanks to the Federal Aviation Administration. Amazon announced in May the federal agency that the company could operate drones “beyond visual line of sight,” expanding its reach to customers.

In terms of law enforcement agencies launching drone programs, Stanley noted that there are an estimated 14,000 to 16,000 police departments nationwide. “I’m paid to be paranoid and to think about the ways this could go wrong,” he  said.

Among the 10 drone issues he outlined were the need for communities to  think about the importance of democratic process, usage limits and mass surveillance.

He highlighted a court case the ACLU filed with a nonprofit organization, Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle, against the Baltimore Police Department’s unauthorized use of a surveillance program taking footage throughout the city. In 2021, a federal appeals court ruled the department’s program was unconstitutional and ordered it to get rid of all the data collected.

“The courts are struggling with these issues, and they’re going to apply to drones,” he said. “As the drones explode over us, there’s a lot of unanswered legal questions.”

Del. Luke Clippinger (D-Baltimore City), chair of the House of Delegates Judiciary Committee, moderated Wednesday’s discussion. He said there could possibly be a briefing for his committee on drones when the 90-day legislative session begins in January.

“What happens when a private security company decides that they’re going to run a drone over … [and] follow them [people] out of the building, in the building, and then out of the building, and then presumably, somewhere else,” Clippinger said after the more than one-hour discussion.

“You could track them for quite a while. You could do it independent of the need to contact a police officer, at least initially,” he said. “So that creates a whole range of different questions.”

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: editor@marylandmatters.org. Follow Maryland Matters on Facebook and X.

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The House of Delegates is one vacancy shy of a full chamber following the swearing-in Monday of a new delegate from Montgomery County.

Newly minted Del. Teresa Saavedra Woorman (D-Montgomery) was sworn-in during a ceremony in the House chamber. The aide to Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich (D) is just the most recent in a string of vacancy-related appointments to the legislature over the last two years.

“Today is the second greatest honor in my life, and I’ll explain why. I was born in Mexico, and as many of you guys know, I moved here when I was 9,” Woorman, 32, said following Monday’s ceremony. “I went to these awesome schools like Northwest High School and Montgomery College and University of Maryland, and those were great honors.

“But the first great honor of my life was to become a U.S. citizen,” she said. “I was jumping up and down at my naturalization ceremony. I’m jumping up and down inside right now because my ankle is still healing.”

Woorman was appointed by Gov. Wes Moore (D) roughly a week ago, after the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee nominated her to fill the open seat in the three-member District 16 delegation on July 12.

She fills the vacancy created when Del. Sara Love was tapped to fill the district’s seat in the state Senate that was vacated by Sen. Ariana B. Kelly (D) – who, herself, moved from the House to the Senate to fill the vacancy left by District 16 Sen. Susan Lee, who was chosen by Moore to serve as secretary of State. Love was sworn into the Senate on June 13.

One opening currently remains in the House, a vacancy created in District 38B by the departure of Del. Carl Anderton (R-Wicomico), who recently accepted a job with the Moore administration.

Last week, the Wicomico County Republican Central Committee nominated Salisbury businessman and county GOP Chair Barry Beauchamp, to replace Anderton. That nomination awaits final approval by Moore.

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: editor@marylandmatters.org. Follow Maryland Matters on Facebook and X.

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Some members balked Tuesday as the Maryland State Board of Education reviewed a proposed literacy policy that could lead to third grade students with reading difficulties being held back, with one calling it “harmful to children.”

Board member Susan Getty, an educator of 40 years that includes 35 years teaching prekindergarten and kindergarten, said the policy is “not a viable option and harmful to children. I don’t consider it on the list of best practice in literacy.”

During the nearly 90-minute discussion, board member Joan Mele-McCarthy said more research is needed on the policy. She mentioned that the National Association of School Psychologists does not support retention policies, especially those strictly based on test scores.

“I don’t know if I can be in support of this. I need a lot more,” said McCarthy, executive director at The Summit School in Anne Arundel County.

But state school officials, led by State Superintendent Carey Wright, say the draft policy is based on research.

Tenette Smith, executive director of literacy programs and initiatives in the Maryland State Department of Education, said Tuesday one study conducted last year notes how states with comprehensive literary plans “saw vast improvements in both high- and low-stakes assessments, as well as increasing student outcomes, indicating that the retention policies can help raise overall academic performance.”

The policy, which school officials said has received about 900 comments, is similar to one implemented in Mississippi, where Wright served as state schools superintendent from 2013 until she retired in 2022. She’s credited with increasing literacy scores and the graduation rate in one of the nation’s poorest states.

Boston University’s Wheelock Educational Policy Center looked at the Mississippi policy, which held third graders back if they didn’t receive a certain reading score on the state’s standardized reading test, in a winter 2023 report.

It found that between 2013 and 2019, average fourth grade reading scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress increased by 10 points, the biggest increase of any state during that period. One of the reasons for the improvement, according to the Boston University report, was collaboration between public and private prekindergarten providers and supports for teachers to build skills in the science of reading.

However, the report determined student achievement elsewhere didn’t improve.

“The fact that we do not find impacts of repeating a grade on student math scores is at least somewhat concerning and is inconsistent with findings from other localities,” according to the report.

As for Maryland’s proposed literacy policy, it would implement a reading intervention program for students in kindergarten through third grade who are identified with a reading deficiency or “need for supplemental instruction in reading.”

Students in those grades would be screened about three times, including for dyslexia, throughout the school year. They could also receive before- or after-school tutoring by a person with “specialized training grounded in the science of reading,” which focuses on teaching students based on phonics, comprehension and vocabulary.

The policy will also call for professional development for staff, which they would receive for free as part of the science of reading program.

Under the proposed plan, a parent or guardian would get written notification if their child exhibits any reading challenges during the school year. Students who are kept back in the third grade would receive more dedicated time “than the previous school year in scientifically research-based reading instruction and intervention,” daily small group instruction and frequent monitoring of the student’s reading skills throughout the school year. Christopher Wooleyhand, executive director of Maryland Association of Elementary School Principals, talks about a proposed statewide literacy plan July 23 before the state Board of Education in Baltimore. Photo by William J. Ford.

During a briefing with reporters Tuesday, Wright stressed this isn’t strictly a third-grade policy.

“This is a policy that starts in pre-K through third grade, so that parent involvement piece has to start in pre-K,” she said.

Christopher Wooleyhand, executive director of the Maryland Association of Elementary School Principals, said he supports state officials in pushing to achieve better literacy for students, but that “mandatory policies of any kind create unnecessary burden on LEAs [local education agencies] and communities.”

“This draft policy places significant challenges on overworked classroom teachers and school leaders whose plates are already full from state and local mandates,” Wooleyhand said.

The board said it will hold a special comment period on just the literacy policy during next month’s regular board meeting. The goal is to vote on the policy by September, but when it would actually go into effect remains unknown.

New leadership

Prior to the literacy conversation, the board unanimously chose new leadership.

Joshua Michael was elected to replace outgoing Board President Clarence Crawford, who served four years in that position. The board also passed a resolution granting Crawford the title “president emeritus” for his work leading the board through the COVID-19 pandemic, implementation of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future education reform plan and the transition of two superintendents. Crawford has two more years on his term.

Monica Goldson, former public schools chief for Prince George’s County, will chosend as the new board vice president.

Michael and Goldson were appointed last year by Gov. Wes Moore (D).

The board’s student member, Abhiram Gaddam of Wicomico County, began his one-year term last month.

Getty’s term expired June 30, but a department spokesperson wrote in an email that she will remain on the board until a successor is appointed.

The board also recognized Cheryl Bost, president of the Maryland State Education Association since August 2018, who was attending her last meeting Tuesday. Bost is scheduled to retire at the end of the month.

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: editor@marylandmatters.org. Follow Maryland Matters on Facebook and X.

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A proposed literacy policy in Maryland could have third-grade students held back for a year if they don’t achieve certain reading scores on state tests, or “demonstrate sufficient reading skills for promotion to grade 4.”

Maryland would join more than half of states that allow third-grade students to be held back if the policy is adopted. The Maryland Department of Education is accepting public comments on the plan until July 19.

It comes as the state Board of Education and the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Accountability and Implementation board recently voted on aggressive goals to boost student achievement for the state, which ranks 40th in the nation on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known at the Nation’s Report Card. The goal is to put Maryland in the top 10 by 2027.

“It has been noted in several research studies that literacy is considered one of the key and pivotal priorities in education if we expect our communities, our states to prosper,” Tenette Smith, executive director of literacy programs and initiatives in the state Department of Education, said Tuesday. “We have to make sure that we are addressing kiddos’ needs, as well as their access to high-quality education. It becomes an equity issue.”

The proposed literacy policy would implement a reading intervention program for students in kindergarten through third grade who are identified with a reading deficiency or “need for supplemental instruction in reading.”

Students in those grades would be screened about three times, which includes for dyslexia, throughout the school year. They can also receive before- or after-school tutoring by a person with “specialized training grounded in the science of reading,” which focuses on teaching students based on phonics, comprehension and vocabulary.

The policy will also call for professional development for staff, which they will receive for free as part of the science of reading program.

A parent or guardian would receive written notification if their child exhibits any reading challenges during the school year. Students who are kept back in the third grade would receive more dedicated time “than the previous school year in scientifically research-based reading instruction and intervention,” daily small group instruction and frequent monitoring of the student’s reading skills throughout the school year.

The proposal includes a “good cause exemption” that would let students advance to the fourth grade if they are diagnosed with a disability described in an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). It would also apply to students with a Section 504 plan who are diagnosed with a disability and need “reasonable accommodation” to participate in school and school-related activities.

A good-cause exception could also be made for students who fewer received less than two years of instruction in an English-language development program.

Any student who received such an exception would continue to receive intensive reading intervention and other services.

No student could be retained twice in third grade, according to the policy.

Smith said the policy is similar to one drafted in Mississippa, where she worked with current Maryland State Superintendent Carey Wright. But a few main differences that focus on Maryland include the Ready to Act and state regulations to support students with reading difficulties.

‘Have to be creative’

According to a January report from the Education Commission of the States, about 26 states and Washington, D.C., implemented policies that require retention for third-grade students who are not reading proficiently, or allow those decisions at the local level. That report came out two months before Indiana joined the list, when the legislature in March approved a measure to retain third grade students who don’t pass a statewide assessment test or meet a “good cause” exemption, similar to the proposed Maryland policy.

A 2013 report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation noted that students who don’t read proficiently by the end of the third grade are four times more likely to leave school without a diploma. The gap could increase if a student comes from a low-income family, is Black or Latino, the report said.

Smith said there’s “a slight shift” in expectations when students enter fourth grade, and begin assessing multisyllabic words and doing more independent reading.

“When you are making that shift, you are providing more academic language and asking children to access or bear a heavier cognitive load. Kiddos are asked to do more word work,” Smith said. “As they progress from one grade to the other, third grade becomes that key grade level, that sort of gateway to being a fluent reader with the ability to analyze the text they are reading.”

Maryland State Education Association President Cheryl Bost, who retires from teaching  at the end of the month, said the state needs to assess who would provide the tutoring during the school day and before or after school.

“We are still in a [teacher] shortage. How we can retain staff and bring staff is going to be key to all of this,” she said Monday.

She also said reading intervention during the school day is “more desirable” than making tutoring before or after school the only option.

“When we do that though, we can’t pull kids out of the arts,” Bost said. “We have to be creative in scheduling because those other subject areas are important. Some kids really shine in those areas.… They have to learn reading in other context not just in what might be called a reading class.”

The policy is scheduled to be discussed by the state Board of Education on July 23. For those interested in taking the survey can go here, or send an email to literacy.msde@maryland.gov by July 19.

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Two state education boards set aggressive new goals Tuesday for student achievement, attracting and retaining a diverse teacher corps and reducing chronic absenteeism.

It was the second time this year that the Maryland State Board of Education and the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Accountability and Implementation Board held a joint meeting, and members said their decision to set higher targets is intentional.

“You have to have aggressive targets if you’re going to make that kind of gain,” said William “Brit” Kirwan, vice chair of the Blueprint board and chancellor emeritus of the University System of Maryland, during a break in Tuesday’s meeting.

Of the new goals approved by the boards, the proposed  changes to student achievement scores were the most notable.

The boards voted to set a new goal for proficiency in literacy, formerly known as English language arts, from 48% in 2023 to 63% by the 2025-26 school year for all students in grades three through eight.

The goal to improve math proficiency is even more ambitious. For fifth graders, the goal is to increase the proficiency level from 27% to 46% over the same time period. For students in grades third through eight, the proficiency level target would be raised from 23% to 46%.

When “you’ve got an overall proficiency rate of 23% in mathematics, that’s a long way to go to show significant improvement,” said Maryland Superintendent Carey Wright. “If you don’t set ambitious goals, you’re never going to reach them. And if you set a low bar, that’s what you’re going to get.”

Wright told state lawmakers this year that one of her educational targets is to get Maryland in the top 10 in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as the Nation’s Report Card, by 2027. Currently, Maryland ranks 40th.

Besides student achievement, the state also wants to boost teacher diversity and retention.

About 46% of new teachers hired statewide this year were teachers of color. The boards aim to increase that to 55% by the 2026-27 school year.

Schools are currently beating the goal of retaining 70% of teachers of color for three years, with the retention rate now standing at 74%. But both boards voted Tuesday to raise the retention rate goal to 78% in the next three years.

The state also seeks to cut chronic absenteeism by half, from 30% reported in 2022-23 school year to 15% by the 2025-26 school year. Any student who misses 10% of school days is considered chronically absent.

Although state law requires the Blueprint board to make final approvals on any documents, initiatives and proposals in connection with the 10-year education reform plan, it must collaborate with the state Department of Education on expertise to improve learning.

In connection with department goals on workforce diversity, they align with at least one of the Blueprint’s priorities: hiring and retaining high-quality and diverse teachers. The other four priorities, also called pillars, are early childhood education, providing additional resources for students in need, preparing students for college and technical careers and governance and accountability.

Clarence Crawford, who served his last meeting Tuesday as the state Board of Education president, used a football analogy to assess the state’s work to improve overall education.

“What we’re looking to do is to build a dynasty so we’re looking at the culture change necessary to achieve the goal, but also the culture change necessary to sustain the goal,” he said.

“This is not an academic exercise. We’re impacting people’s lives. That’s the magnitude,” Crawford said. “It’s within reach. It’s not going to be easy. There’s going to be bumps along the way, but I believe we can get there.”

Blueprint plans

Both education bodies also discussed Blueprint updates that included implementation plans submitted last month from every school district in state to the Blueprint board, also known as the AIB.

In the past week, officials said, department and AIB staff reviewed plans from all 24 school districts with suggestions to revise the plans.

The May documents are a follow-up to brief March reports in which school officials responded to at least five questions and prompts from the state on the top challenges they are facing implementing the Blueprint.

No specific school district was mentioned Tuesday, but some common themes emerged from the plans, include prioritizing stakeholder outreach and involvement, increasing collaboration with school district staff and local schools and identifying supports for students who haven’t met the college and career readiness standard.

Emma Pellerin, implementation plan director with the AIB, said six employees with her agency and 30 staff members with the department reviewed all 24 school district plans.

“It took about 10 hours to just review each plan,” she said during the meeting.

State officials continue to review all school district plans that include possible revisions and other feedback.

Rachel Hise, executive director with the AIB, said to reporters some plans could “possibly” be approved by the Blueprint board July 18.

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After a tough primary election ended last month, Maryland Democratic Party leaders vowed unity as they head into the November general election.

The Latino community wants to make sure it’s not left out of the party.

“As members of the party, we’re trying to push the party forward and say, ‘Look, we are no longer comfortable just doing Cinco de Mayo events. We’re no longer comfortable just to do Hispanic Heritage Month events,’” said Del. Ashanti Martinez (D-Prince George’s), who became chair of the Maryland Legislative Latino Caucus this year. “We need engagement year-round with our community in a very meaningful way.”

Martinez was one of 50 Latino elected officials, business and community leaders who signed a letter last week to party leaders and Democratic nominees for Congress to ensure Latinos are included in the political process. Their letter, a copy of which was obtained by Maryland Matters, calls on the party to encourage Latinos to register to vote, identify barriers that may hinder Latinos from voting and conduct civic education and leadership development in Latino communities.

“Too often we have seen lack of inclusion and support for our community, lack of representation of Latinos in positions of leadership and lack of investment in Latino voter outreach,” the letter said. “Latino leaders across the state need to feel seen and heard by the party and by the candidates the party puts on the ballot.”

Besides Martinez, the letter was also signed by Dels. Gabriel Acevero (D-Montgomery), Joe Vogel (D-Montgomery) and Deni Taveras (D-Prince George’s), all of whom are members of the caucus’ executive board. Other signers included Dels. Joseline Peña-Melnyk (D-Prince George’s), chair of the Health and Government Operations Committee, and David Fraser-Hildago (D-Montgomery).

Martinez said the caucus has about 90 associate members, who are lawmakers that provide support and “allyship” to the caucus.

However, there are no elected Latinos in the state Senate.

There are no Latinos in the state’s congressional delegation.

The letter recommends that the party should “hire Latinos at the top levels of the Maryland Party who are bilingual and culturally aware.”

Baltimore City Councilmember Odette Ramos (D), who signed the letter, said the party should mirror appointments made by Gov. Wes Moore (D). At least four Latinos in his administration have decision-making powers, including Health Secretary Laura Herrera Scott, Human Services Secretary Rafael J. López, Secretary of Aging Carmel Roques and Yolanda Maria Martinez, special secretary of the Governor’s Office of Small, Minority, and Women Business Affairs.

“At least the governor recognizes that,” Ramos said Tuesday. “Because our population is growing so quickly, we really need a Cabinet that looks like the state. The party should do the same.”

‘We want to be better’

Democratic Party Chair Ken Ulman, who’s been in the job for about six months, said that before the letter was sent, party officials met with “about 80%” of the leaders who signed it. He said the letter matches discussions he’s had with Latino leaders.

One recommendation that could happen in the near future is incorporating “get out the vote” correspondence on the party’s social media pages in Spanish. Another request is to invest and post information in Spanish a section for new citizens on voter registration eligibility, the process to register, verification of registration and party affiliation.

A recommendation that could take longer is a call to hire Latino party liaisons in each of  the state’s eight congressional districts.

“I can’t commit to exactly how we’re going to do these things and when, but we are absolutely committed to making progress … to figure this out,” Ulman said. “We want to be better. We want to be more effective. We want to be as inclusive as possible.”

Latino leaders interviewed said they support the party, but still want to see some action before the Nov. 5 general election.

The Latino community continues to remain the fastest-growing demographic in Maryland, and accounted for 11.5% of the state’s population in 2023, according to Census Bureau estimates.

The Pew Research Center projects that Latinos will make up nearly 15% of the electorate nationwide in this year’s general election, but only about 6% of eligible voters in Maryland.

But advocates say the party should not overlook any part of the state’s Latino population, even those who may not be able to vote now. They can still be voices in the community.

“I think we need to be talking to everyone in our communities because everyone has value. Whether or not people can vote, they know people who do,” said Kony Serrano Portillo, a councilmember for the town of Edmonston in Prince George’s.

“We spend a lot of time as a party in the general election trying to get this independent voter. I don’t see any difference between individuals who would be voting [in the future],” she said. “We want them to be included in our party.”

Prince George’s and Montgomery counties have the highest percentage of Latinos in the state, with about 20% each, according to the Census Bureau.

Ramos did not endorse a U.S. Senate candidate and declined to say who she voted for in the last month’s primary won by Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks (D), who faces former Gov. Larry Hogan (R) in the general election.

Ramos said she recently spoke with Alsobrooks to ensure her campaign reaches out to the Latino community.

“I’m focused on defeating Hogan. Period, end of story,” Ramos said. “He would be terrible for Maryland and frankly for the United States. This is the race that everyone will be paying attention to, because it will alter what will happen in the Senate.”

The Alsobrooks campaign agrees.

“Throughout this campaign, Angela has and will continue to reach out to Latino leaders and community members across the state of Maryland,” Alsobrooks spokesperson Gina Ford said in a statement Thursday. “She has built a wide coalition that we will continue to grow because for Angela, this race is about the future of all Marylanders.”

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School officials from the state’s 24 districts filed updated documents last month detailing their progress on, and problems with, the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future.

The latest filings are a follow-up to brief March reports, of a dozen pages or fewer, in which school officials including those from Montgomery County Public Schools, responded to at least five questions and prompts from the state on the top challenges they are facing implementing the Blueprint. Those documents and the ones filed last month are on the website of the Blueprint’s Accountability and Implementation Board (AIB).

School officials in the latest reports cited progress, but they also said they still face challenges that range from funding, to meeting diversity goals and implementing full-day prekindergarten, among others.

Many were like Harford County Superintendent Sean Bulson, a Blueprint supporter who acknowledges challenges. Bulson is a former principal of Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School and a former MCPS community superintendent.

In a recent interview, Bulson said the Blueprint has helped his district in several areas such as higher pre-K enrollment, youth apprenticeships and high school students taking courses at a community college, a program called dual enrollment.

But while schools receive state funding and additional resources as part of the Blueprint, Bulson and other school and county leaders have expressed concerns over a need for funding and a lack of flexibility in implementation of the plan.

For instance, Bulson said certain funding requirements could cause cuts to specialty programs and elective courses such as art and physical education.

He said one bright spot, however, has been collaboration with the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), particularly Superintendent Carey Wright.

“In the last few months, we’ve seen that begin for the first time. I’m very encouraged by Dr. Wright’s work,” Bulson said. “But they [state officials] have to stay on track with that because we can do great things with this Blueprint.”

Wright said in a recent interview that she held a four-day meeting to review all 24 school district Blueprint documents, along with state education officials, local school leaders and officials with the AIB, the independent unit that oversees and approves all Blueprint plans.

The reports from each school district are based on the Blueprint’s five priorities: early childhood education, hiring and retaining high-quality and diverse teachers, preparing students for college and technical careers, providing additional resources for students in need and governance and accountability.

Wright said her staff will compile data and other information into one document including some of the challenges cited by local schools and present that report to the state Board of Education. In addition, she said state officials will provide feedback to school officials.

“It informs us if is there something else we could be doing to help facilitate that implementation. That gives us a better idea of what’s happening across the state,” Wright said.

“I think that everybody is invested in the Blueprint. I think that everybody’s trying to do the very, very best that they can to help children learn,” she said.

According to a sampling from the submitted reports, Montgomery County Public Schools continues to deal with staffing issues:

Montgomery

“Some challenges MCPS (Montgomery County Public Schools) continues to face in serving children with disabilities include: lack of highly qualified staff, specialized transportation needs, and availability of classroom space throughout the county.

MCPS is committed to providing professional learning and job-embedded coaching to support staff in serving our students receiving special education services. Two curriculum coaches use a support model that provides group and individual coaching for new teachers. In addition, MCPS convenes a new special educator professional learning community, quarterly, to provide additional professional learning on topics related to implementation of specially designed instruction.”

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