Maryland
Interim superintendent visits House panel, education officials lay out legislative priorities – Maryland Matters
Some of Maryland’s top education officials converged in Annapolis on Wednesday to give the House Ways and Means Committee one message: Make sure public education remains fully funded.
The representatives from the Maryland State Department of Education, Maryland Association of Boards of Education and Public School Superintendents’ Association of Maryland also asked lawmakers to continue to support the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future education reform plan.
Before legislative proposals were presented, interim State Superintendent of Schools Carey Wright told the committee about the state’s ambitious plan to incorporate the so-called science of reading method into all 24 school systems starting in the 2024-25 school year.
The state Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday to push for an “aspirational target” for Maryland to rank among the top 10 states in the nation for fourth- and eighth-grade reading proficiency on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) exams, also known as the Nation’s Report Card. The goal is to reach this achievement by 2027.
According to the resolution, the latest NAEP results from 2022 showed about 31% of fourth graders and 32% of eighth graders are reading at a proficient level in Maryland.
In 2015, the state ranked 24th in the nation on the NAEP fourth-grade assessment and has fallen to the current rank of 40th.
During that same time frame, the state ranked 18th in eighth grade achievement, but slid down to 25th in 2022.
Wright is familiar with the science of reading program, which focuses on teaching students based on phonics instructions sound, comprehension and vocabulary.
Wright used the method when she was schools superintendent in Mississippi, one of the nation’s poorest states, where reading proficiency now exceeds Maryland’s, one of the richest states.
To help Maryland implement the science of reading instruction, Tenette Smith will join the Maryland State Department of Education to lead literacy instruction. According to the department, Smith led elementary reading for the Mississippi Department of Education when Wright served as superintendent in 2021.
The majority of Maryland school systems have begun to integrate the science of reading into their curriculum, but all schools must be aligned with that method of literacy instruction next school year.
Maryland educators taught what’s known as the balanced literacy method through the Ready to Read Act enacted in 2019 and implemented in the 2020-21 school year. Although it offered educators a comprehensive approach to literacy instruction for students, local school officials were allowed to choose their own curriculum.
Wright said a literacy plan will be released later this year that will include input from superintendents, educators and other stakeholders.
“This is not a ‘gotcha’ moment,” Wright said to the committee. “This is really a way to provide feedback to our schools and our teachers and our leaders about what may need to change in the classroom to ensure that our children are learning to read.”
Wright summarized other initiatives underway or in the planning process at her agency, including literacy expert teams visiting schools, creating strategies to boost math test scores and establishing a joint committee with representatives from the Maryland Higher Education Commission and University System of Maryland to assess educator programs.
Several members of the House committee gleefully welcomed Wright, who became the state’s interim public schools leader in October.
“I am so excited that you’re here and everything that you have been saying…is speaking my language, so I am very excited to hear all the initiatives that you’ve talked about,” said Del. April Miller (R-Frederick), a former school board member in that county for eight years.
Del. Eric Ebersole (D-Baltimore County), a former teacher, called Wright the “Wizard of Mississippi” for her literacy work.
‘Unfunded mandates’
After Wright’s presentation, representatives with the state Boards of Education, also known as MABE, and the Public School Superintendents’ Association laid out their legislative priorities.
Representatives with the Maryland Association of Boards of Education testify before the House Ways and Means Committee on Jan. 24, 2024. Photo by William J. Ford.
A few proposals that both groups highlighted are more funding and resources to expand early childhood education that’s required under the Blueprint plan. They also want to amend state law for the Blueprint to ensure local funding keeps pace with inflation and to provide permanent funding for Blueprint coordinators.
The state Boards of Education asked legislators to amend state law to allocate $150,000 annually for each of the 24 school systems to fund Blueprint coordinators’ salaries, benefits and “administrative supports.” The estimated cost that would be shared between state and local governments: $3.6 million.
Michelle Corkadel, president of MABE and an Anne Arundel County school board member, said after the briefing that some local school systems cannot afford to fund that position.
“It’s basically a conversation about unfunded mandates [and] that unfunded mandates have consequences,” she said. “I would say if accountability, successful implementation and smooth coordination and transition are of your mindset, then helping to fund it should be the natural secondary course of action.”
Myriam Rogers with Baltimore County Public Schools and Maria Navarro with Charles County Public Schools spoke on behalf of the school superintendents.
One legislative priority was to support any program that promotes teacher recruitment and retention such as the “Grow Your Own” program, which is designed to expand the local pipeline for teachers and school administrators.
“We want people to come into teaching and stay in the field of education,” said Navarro, the legislative committee chair for the superintendent’s association.
The association also seeks an updated cost analysis of the Blueprint plan “in a post-Covid world” done by the state Department of Legislative Services. Some of the analysis, according to association documents, should include transportation, health and food services and building maintenance.
Rogers, who became superintendent last year in Baltimore County, said the jurisdiction is the state’s third largest school system but has some of the state’s oldest buildings.
“With that comes some overcrowding and some capital needs to meet the needs of our students,” she said.
The state said the five recently traveled together to “a location in the U.S. experiencing an active measles outbreak.”
Maryland health officials confirmed five more measles cases, all in Carroll County.
“These individuals recently traveled together to a location in the U.S. experiencing an active measles outbreak,” the state Department of Health said in a release.
The agency said others may have been exposed on the afternoon of July 13 in the emergency department waiting room at Carroll Hospital Center in Westminster.
Another measles case recently prompted warnings from health officials in Maryland, Virginia and the District. On June 17, a Maryland resident traveled through Dulles International Airport and visited a D.C. urgent care clinic.
Measles is highly contagious. It can spread through the air through coughs, breathing, and sneezes. Early symptoms can include fevers of over 101 degrees, coughs, runny noses, watery eyes and face or body rashes.
It can take up to 21 days after exposure for the first symptoms to appear, and those who are not fully vaccinated or otherwise immune to measles are especially vulnerable.
The five new measles cases in Maryland bring the state’s year-to-date total to nine. The state health department confirmed three cases in 2025, and one in each of the previous two years.
“All Marylanders should review potential exposure times, watch for symptoms, and confirm they are up to date on their measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccinations,” the health department said.
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Baltimore may be under an extreme heat alert, but residents can dream about autumn, as tickets are now on sale for the Maryland Fall Home & Garden + Craft Show returning to the Maryland State Fairgrounds in October.
This three-day celebration of home and garden takes place from Friday, Oct. 16 through Sunday, Oct. 18 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. Expect hundreds of exhibitors, local makers, home improvement experts, family-friendly experiences and celebrity guests. The show offers everyone the chance to explore the very latest in home improvement, landscaping, outdoor living and decor, the chance to take part in hands-on experiences, and do some holiday shopping all under one roof.
This year’s show will have more than 300 exhibitors, including more than 100 crafters from around Maryland in the Makers Market. There will be unique exhibits, stage presentations and a special appearance by Chase Morrill, Ashley Morrill-Eldridge and Ryan Eldridge from Magnolia Network’s hit series “Maine Cabin Masters.” The three will have two Main Stage appearances, one on Friday, Oct. 16 at 4 p.m. and the second on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 12 p.m.
“As temperatures start to drop and the holiday season comes into view, the Maryland Fall Home & Garden + Craft Show is a place to gather ideas, meet local experts and get inspired before the busy season begins,” said Dave Paul, show manager, in a statement. “Whether attendees are planning a home project, looking for outdoor living ideas or getting a head start on holiday shopping, the show brings together resources and experiences for every kind of homeowner, maker and DIY enthusiast.”
In addition to the Makers Market and stars of “Maine Cabin Masters”, the Maryland Fall Home & Garden + Craft Show will have a petting zoo, a Kids Market where attendees can shop from local children, and much more.
Tickets are available online and at the door. Prices are as follows:
Online:
- Adults: $8
- Senior Citizens (60+): $6
- Children (ages 6-12): $4
- 4-Pack Online: $30 for four tickets, valid for one admission each and one day only
At the door:
- Adults: $10
- Senior Citizens (60+): $8
- Children (ages 6-12): $4
- Friday & Saturday: $4 after 4 p.m. at the door only
Special Offers:
- Active and retired military personnel, veterans, firefighters and police officers receive free admission all weekend, along with one guest, with valid ID at the box office.
- Attendees who show a CharmPass app, Light RailLink ticket or eligible transit pass at the box office receive free admission any day of the show. One admission is available per pass.
The Maryland State Fairgrounds is located at 2200 York Road in Lutherville-Timonium.
Related
Maryland
Maryland police arrest alleged bank robber wielding stolen cat: ‘Tried to use her as an accessory’
Law enforcement agencies are accustomed to dealing with cat burglars – but now a Maryland police department is saying it grappled with a cat-wielding bank robber.
The Prince George’s county police department said its officers arrested a man suspected of stealing a cat and then taking the animal with him to a PNC bank branch in the local community of Beltsville to rob the establishment on Monday morning.
“The cat was returned” after the suspect was arrested, the police department said in a statement to the Guardian on Tuesday. The agency said no injuries were reported, and it declined to name the suspect or release additional details, saying the case – bound for a spot in the annals of bizarre reported US crimes – remained under investigation.
Nonetheless, a social media post from rescue shelter Beltsville Community Cats provided more information.
A Beltsville Community Cats Facebook page post on Monday identified the cat at the center of the alleged botched caper as Magnolia, a three-and-a-half-month-old tuxedo kitten. The shelter recounted how the suspect first snatched Magnolia from her “adoption habitat” at Beltsville’s Pet Supplies Plus store, took her across the parking lot to a PNC branch, and “tried to use her as an accessory in [an] attempted robbery”.
“He asked the bank manager to hold the kitten while he wrote a note, then handed the note to a teller demanding all the cash,” the post continued. “Thankfully, the robbery was unsuccessful, the suspect was arrested, and Magnolia was found safe and sound in the bank manager’s office, where the two had bonded over their shared ordeal.”
Pet Supplies Plus store employees told the NBC affiliate in nearby Washington DC that Magnolia’s cat napper had come in daily for about two weeks and focused on the kitten each time.
Finally, on Monday, he managed to use a key to open a cat adoption area and whisked Magnolia away, store employees said to the outlet, WRC.
Store manager Aaron Kurkowski told WRC that Magnolia’s thief “came in and saw none of my team was nearby the front – and he just went right to her and ran right on out”.
According to WRC, Stephanie Stullich of Beltsville Community Cats then received a call from a pet store employee who alerted her to Magnolia’s plight.
That prompted Stullich to run over to the store, where she said to WRC that she “immediately saw all of these police cars and … thought, ‘Wow, that’s a heck of a response for a stolen cat’.”
“But then I realized they all were going down to the bank,” Stullich recalled to WRC. “They came back out a few minutes later and said, ‘Yes, there is a cat inside the bank.’”
Two days before her catnapping, Magnolia was the subject of a Beltsville Community Cats Facebook post inviting people to see her at Pet Supplies Plus and consider adopting her.
Magnolia as of Monday was still waiting to be adopted, Beltsville Community Cats said in its post detailing the bank robbery.
The non-profit organization offered members of the public the opportunity to apply to adopt Magnolia by emailing rescue@beltsvillecats.net.
Beltsville Community Cats’ post also joked that Magnolia’s “brief ‘life of crime’ is behind her” – except for undoubtedly “stealing” hearts, treats, toys and cuddles wherever her forever home may be.
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