Maryland

Maryland is experiencing a dire teacher shortage. Can the Blueprint plan help?

Published

2 years ago

March 19, 2024

Press Room

Maryland is experiencing a dire teacher shortage. Can the Blueprint plan help?

Aidan Hughes and Daranee Balachandar
| Capital News Service

Fifth-grade teacher Melissa Carpenter works a 10-hour day on average during the week, and her job sometimes requires her to put in hours on weekends, too.

“I feel like teaching is one of those jobs where we go to work to do more work — to do work after work,” said Carpenter, who teaches at William B. Wade Elementary School in Waldorf, in Charles County.

Carpenter’s long hours are far from unique among Maryland’s educators, as the state and nation grapple with a teacher shortage.

The U.S. Department of Education keeps a Teacher Shortage Areas database — and it found that for the current school year, Maryland was short of teachers in 28 subjects, which the state defines as “areas of certification.” That’s up from 17 five years earlier. Some teacher certification areas — such as English as a second language, health science and special education — are short on teachers from pre-K through the 12th grade.

The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future – a landmark state law reforming public education — aims to fix that problem by “elevating the stature of the teaching profession” through higher pay, better training and stronger recruitment efforts.

However, experts and educators have mixed views about whether that will successfully address the root causes of the shortage.

“Money is a huge help, but it’s not everything,” said Simon Birenbaum, director of grading, assessment and scheduling at Baltimore City Public Schools. “Human capital is the biggest issue, and money can help with that problem, but recruiting, training and retaining high-quality teachers and staff has to be the primary focus. No amount of money can compensate for a lack of highly-skilled educators.”

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Maryland’s teacher shortage problem mirrors national trends

Maryland’s teacher woes follow national trends. The National Center for Education Statistics reported 86% of U.S. K-12 public schools faced challenges in hiring teachers for the current school year.

Amid the shortage, the Blueprint calls for hiring an unspecified number of additional teachers to ease the workload of classroom veterans.

“You hear a lot about the teacher shortage — and how are we going to implement all these Blueprint programs, which require additional staffing, when we have a teacher shortage?” asked Addie Kaufman, executive director of the Maryland Association of Secondary School Principals.

Shortages stem, in part, from the fact that teachers are leaving the profession. In Prince George’s County, 1,126 teachers resigned between July 2022 and July 2023 — up from 989 the previous year, The Washington Post reported. Meanwhile, 625 resigned in Montgomery County Public Schools, up from 576 a year earlier.Dorchester County experienced the highest attrition rate in Maryland during the 2021-22 school year at 18%, according to a Department of Education report.

“I used to never have people just quit in the middle of the year,” said Dorchester County Superintendent Dave Bromwell, who recently retired. “The pandemic told some people, you know what? If you’re not happy, move on.”

All those factors end up impacting teachers like Carpenter. She said her grade level saw an influx of students, with around 30 students in her own fifth grade class this year.

“Our class sizes are growing, and we don’t have the support in place to help some of our struggling learners,” she said.

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Teacher numbers have been declining since the ’70s

Schools are suffering from a long-term decline in the number of people interested in becoming teachers.

That decline has been ongoing since the mid-‘70s, “but it gets worse and worse and worse, year over year,” said Mike Hansen, an education policy expert at the Brookings Institution.

According to the State Department of Education, 9,134 people were enrolled in teacher preparation programs in the state in 2012. That number plummeted by about half by 2017, but rose to 6,037 by 2020.

Why is teaching becoming less appealing as a career? Zid Mancenido, a lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, has been studying that issue.

“One of the major findings of my research has been that people are taught over time that teaching isn’t a great career,” he said in a 2022 interview on the school’s website. “There are all these tiny interactions they have over their lifetime that give them this feeling that teaching isn’t approved, that they should be aspiring to other careers that might be more prestigious or well-paid.”

Amid the shortage, many schools hire less-credentialed “conditional” teachers — those who have not yet received their professional certifications. Maryland’s issuance of conditional certificates more than doubled between 2018 to 2022, a state Department of Education report said.

In Charles County, where Carpenter works, 12.4% of all teachers held conditional certificates by 2021 – a rate only surpassed by Baltimore City (13.4%) and Prince George’s County (14.3%).

Carpenter said experienced teachers are leaned on to help the conditional hires.

“Which would be fine if you had one or two teachers who needed that support. But we have a massive amount of teachers who are conditional right now,” she said.

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Maryland’s Blueprint initiative increases teacher pay

In order to address the teacher shortage, the Blueprint provides a number of measures that lawmakers hope will encourage people to become teachers and ensure that existing ones don’t leave for more lucrative out-of-state positions – or exit the profession altogether.

A key Blueprint initiative increases teacher pay to a minimum of $60,000 by 2026. In some counties, that means a nearly $15,000 pay bump for new teachers.

David Larner, chief human resource and professional development officer at the Howard County Public School System, said the pay raise will attract teachers from other states and build up Maryland’s teacher workforce.

“If our salaries are higher than salaries in surrounding states … then candidates are more likely to come,” Larner explained.

However, Hansen, of the Brookings Institution, expressed skepticism about the likely impact of the measure on the state’s teacher shortage.

Hansen argued that rather than a universal rise in minimum salary levels, money should be targeted where it’s needed the most – attracting teacher talent in high-need schools and specialized fields like STEM subjects and special education. He also highlighted research that suggests salary is just one of many factors that can lead to teacher attrition.

“I think we need to be paying teachers more – I don’t think paying a $60,000 minimum wage is the way to do it,” he said.

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Blueprint offers teacher salary increases for key certification

The Blueprint also aims to improve teacher quality by encouraging educators to obtain additional training.

The plan provides for a salary increase of $10,000 for teachers who become National Board Certified, an advanced teaching credential that fewer than 6% of Maryland teachers held at the start of 2023, according to the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Teachers in high-need areas may see their annual salaries increase by up to $17,000 by becoming certified.

“We want to professionalize the career of teaching, and I think that is absolutely what we should be doing,” said Stephanie Novak Pappas, principal of the Holabird Academy, an elementary and middle school in Baltimore.

However, Hansen questioned the Blueprint’s emphasis on National Board certification.

“We don’t have a lot of evidence that actually getting your NBC makes you a better teacher,” Hansen said.

The Blueprint also calls on school districts to create a diverse workforce. The Accountability and Implementation Board – which oversees the Blueprint – will evaluate those efforts.

A diverse workforce has significant benefits, according to David Blazar, an education policy expert at the University of Maryland.

Blazar said that increasing the share of Black teachers has “exceptionally large impacts on students’ short and long term outcomes,” he said. “I’d say some of the largest impacts I’ve seen across all of the educational intervention literature.”

But maximizing the benefits of a more diverse workforce will be complicated, Blazar said. Even if the state’s teacher workforce came to match the demographics of its students, there would likely still be “clustering of Black teachers within certain districts, and within certain schools within districts,” he said.

Hansen echoed those concerns, and said that teachers nationwide remain even more racially segregated than students. Rather than aiming to make the teachers within individual districts reflect the exact racial demographics as their students, he suggested that policymakers should “maximize exposure and access to a diverse set of teachers for every student” across different regions.

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What comes next as Maryland battles teacher shortage?

Beyond the Blueprint, the General Assembly last year passed the Maryland Educator Shortage Reduction Act, which requires the state to set recruitment goals for teacher education programs, creates an alternative teacher prep program for early childhood educators and establishes a $20,000 yearly stipend for eligible student teachers.

Gov. Wes Moore, who proposed the legislation, said upon signing it that it is intended to place “world class teachers in every classroom.”

Carpenter, the Charles County teacher, said future changes may be necessary, too.

“We will have new students next year, and they will [have] different needs. So we need to make sure that we are constantly evolving,” she said.

Meanwhile, Sparkle Jefferson, an assistant principal at Flintstone Elementary School in Prince George’s County, stressed that reinforcing the teacher workforce is key to the Blueprint’s overall success.

“It lands in the hands of our educators, and if we don’t have educators who are highly qualified or able to do the work, then the Blueprint work would never get accomplished,” she said.

Local News Network Director Jerry Zremski contributed to this report.

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Maryland

Gov. Moore seeks disaster relief for farmers hit by April cold snap

Published

9 hours ago

May 29, 2026

Press Room

Gov. Moore seeks disaster relief for farmers hit by April cold snap

Gov. Wes Moore has requested a federal disaster declaration to help farmers recover from their losses after temperatures dipped into the 20s in April, devastating some of Maryland’s agriculture industry.

Temperatures dipped into the low to mid 20s for several hours, causing widespread damage to crops, wine grapes, berries, peaches and apples in some parts of the state.

“We had 6, 7 hours I believe here under 32 and that’s just a lot of stress on those small fruits and buds,” said Ben Butler, the farm manager of Butler’s Orchard in Germantown back in April.

Moore asked for the U.S. agriculture secretary to declare a federal disaster using Maryland Farm Service Agency data to back up the request. According to the agency, there were historic losses, including 94% of the apple crop, 99% of the peach crop and 98% of the barley in several jurisdictions.

The Maryland Wineries Association says 36% of grape acreage sustained total losses, with a $24.4 million projected deficit in wine sales for the 2026 vintage.

“For the majority of the varieties, the yield, the 2026 crop yield, will essentially be zero,” said Robert Butz, the owner of Windridge Vineyards.

The hours-long deep freeze in April left grapes at Windridge Vineyards in Germantown dead on the vine.

News4 visited Windridge Vineyards just a few days after the disaster. Butz said not only were there grape losses, some of the vines were damaged as well. He called the devastation “catastrophic.”

It’s challenging, but he said he’s pleased with the support being given to local farmers and the disaster declaration request.

“This announcement by the governor is further evidence of that, right,” Butz said. “Marylanders care about their farmers. That’s great.It’s incredibly gratifying for those who do this work.”

Moore is asking the agriculture secretary for a quick decision so emergency loans and relief programs are made available right away so farmers can prepare for the next growing season.

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Maryland

Anne Arundel County Executive Democratic candidates make their case ahead of Maryland primary

Published

21 hours ago

May 28, 2026

Press Room

Anne Arundel County Executive Democratic candidates make their case ahead of Maryland primary

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, Md. — Five candidates are running to replace Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman, with four Democrats competing for their party’s nomination ahead of the Maryland primary.

Republican Dave Crawford is the only candidate on the GOP side, meaning he automatically advances from the primary. Democratic voters, however, face a choice between four candidates: county council members Allison Pickard and Pete Smith, Pittman administration Special Assistant James Kitchin, and city and regional planner Kyle Nembhard.

Pickard is serving her second term as councilwoman for the Second District.

Anne Arundel County executive democratic candidates make their case ahead of Maryland primary

Anne Arundel County executive race heats up ahead of Maryland primary

“I’m excited to move forward into the executive branch where we really get to execute and implement, uh, all of the policies that we’ve put forth,” Pickard said.

Smith has served on the county council for 14 years on and off.

“You will see that there is a crystal clear option in this race, uh, when you look at our resume when you judge me on my report card, you will see that I’ve been doing my homework for this county for the last 14 years,” Smith said.

Kitchin has served as special assistant in the Pittman administration for the past 7 years.

“I have the most relevant experience and I am the most ready on day one to come in and create a smooth transition from the Pittman administration into the next 4 years,” Kitchin said.

Nembhard has worked as a city and regional planner in the transportation field since 2002.

“I am literally an average citizen, like the majority of, of folks in Anne Arundel County, actually all the folks in Anne Arundel County. Um, who just like them, feel like their voices aren’t heard,” Nembhard said.

Where the candidates agree — and differ

All 4 Democratic candidates share similar positions on many of the county’s major issues, including housing affordability, public safety, mental health services, and education funding. Their approaches, however, differ.

On housing, Pickard emphasizes supply and transit-oriented development.

“I’ve been wholly focused on redevelopment and transit oriented development, which is exciting about creating cool spaces, uh, around our Mark station. Or our light rail stations so that maybe we’ll attract those younger folks who want to have walkable communities and really neat spaces — and be closer to where they work,” Pickard said.

All 4 candidates support increasing public safety staffing. Smith pointed to specific numbers to illustrate the strain on current personnel.

“In fact, on the police side of the house we’re about 809 positions. The reality is 1200 is where we should be at with this current population here in Anne Arundel County. We got about 850 to 900, uh, fire department personnel, uh, who are answering well over 100,000 calls every single year. That’s significant,” Smith said.

All 4 candidates also support funding mental health services and violence interruption programs. Both Nembhard and Smith expressed a personal connection to the issue and called for more community policing. Nembhard described the impact of officers who knew their neighborhoods.

“Where I grew up we were fortunate, I don’t know if that was by design or by chance, but like me and my friends, we knew the folks who, you know, walked the beat in our neighborhood. So, that intimate knowledge, that integration can make the difference between a good student who’s just in the wrong place at the wrong time getting shot,” Nembhard said.

On education, all 4 candidates support maintaining funding growth for county schools. Kitchin is the only candidate in the race endorsed by the teachers union.

“Like I’m a pro-education candidate, um, come from a pro-education family, and that didn’t change because I got their endorsement,” Kitchin said.

Public financing

Anne Arundel County has a public financing system for campaigns. Kitchin is the only candidate in this race using it.

“I’m not taking any corporate money, any PAC money, no developer money. I’m also not taking any union money,” Kitchin said.

All 4 candidates support the public financing system and said they would like to see more political candidates use it in the future.

Why vote for me?

With so much common ground among the candidates, voters may find it difficult to choose. Each candidate made their case.

Kitchin pointed to his experience inside the current administration.

“I have the most relevant experience and I am the most ready on day one to come in and create a smooth transition from the Pittman administration into the next 4 years,” Kitchin said.

Nembhard framed his candidacy around his connection to everyday residents.

“I don’t see voters. I see my neighbors, I see friends, I see family, the same people that I’m in the trenches all the time, all day, going to county council meetings and speaking up on their behalf and fighting to be heard, you know, like just, just to be heard, to have a seat at the table,” Nembhard said.

Pickard highlighted the support she has built across the county.

“I’m really proud of the coalition I’ve built, and I feel like it’s a real testament to my track record of getting results for our community,” Pickard said.

Smith pointed to his long record of service.

Early voting begins June 11. The Maryland primary is June 23. Whoever wins the Democratic nomination will face Crawford in the November general election.

JAMES KITCHIN

Full interview with Anne Arundel County Executive candidate James Kitchin

Meet the candidates for Anne Arundel County Executive: James Kitchin

Key Campaign Message:
Kitchin positions himself as the candidate of government reform and transparency, emphasizing his unique use of the county’s new public financing system. As the only candidate refusing corporate, developer, PAC, and union money, he frames his campaign around eliminating special interest influence in county government.

Core Qualifications:

Executive Experience: Seven-plus years in the Pittman administration, including roles in budget, legislative affairs, and communications
Education Background: Former teacher and current spouse of a 4th-grade teacher
“Ready on Day One”: Claims unique preparation for executive role through administrative experience

Policy Priorities:

Housing: Rejects “supply-side” approach, insists on building specifically affordable units rather than hoping market-rate construction reduces costs
Education: Strongly supports record $72.8 million education increase; endorsed by Teachers Association of Anne Arundel County
Environment: Proposes “no net loss of forest” program and opposes one-size-fits-all bulk regulations
Immigration: Strongest advocate for expanding Family Protection Initiative

Notable Positions:

Only candidate using public financing system
Most detailed critique of supply-side housing theory
Emphasizes upstream public safety investments over enforcement-only approach
Supports using rainy day fund to address potential federal cuts

KYLE NEMBHARD

Full interview with Anne Arundel County Executive candidate Kyle Nembhard

Meet the candidates for Anne Arundel County Executive: Kyle Nembhard

Key Campaign Message:
Nembhard presents himself as the “average citizen” candidate bringing fresh perspective and community empowerment to county government. He emphasizes transparency, community engagement, and reducing barriers between government and residents.

Core Qualifications:

Professional Background: City and regional planner with development experience
Community Advocacy: Extensive volunteer work and community organizing
Outsider Status: Only candidate without prior elected office experience

Policy Priorities:

Housing: Supports increased supply but emphasizes affordable units near transit corridors to reduce car dependency
Education: Advocates for maximum 20 students per classroom; child of union member though not endorsed by teachers
Transportation: Strong focus on transit-oriented development and reducing car dependency
Public Safety: Emphasizes community integration of law enforcement, drawing from personal positive police relationships

Notable Positions:

Late entry candidate who couldn’t access public financing due to timing
Most detailed focus on transit and transportation solutions
Unique emphasis on empowering communities through government transparency
Economic argument for protecting immigrant workers

PETE SMITH

Full interview with Anne Arundel County Executive candidate Pete Smith

Meet the candidates for Anne Arundel County Executive: Pete Smith

Key Campaign Message:
Smith emphasizes his proven track record and deep institutional knowledge, positioning himself as the candidate who has “done the homework” through 14 years of council service and 28 years of military experience.

Core Qualifications:

Legislative Experience: 14 years on county council (with breaks), including budget committee work
Military Service: 28 years as Marine, including overseas deployments
Institutional Knowledge: Claims deepest understanding of county operations and needs

Policy Priorities:

Public Safety: Most specific staffing targets – wants 1,200 police officers (currently ~809) and 1,200-1,300 firefighters (currently 850-900)
Housing: Supports county “driving the train” rather than leaving to market; backs cottage home bill creating $200k homes
Economic Development: Strong emphasis on P3 partnerships and reducing federal dependency
Education: Detailed history supporting education funding since 2012, including Blueprint implementation

Notable Positions:

Most specific public safety staffing numbers
Created stormwater remediation fund
Personal story about police officer saving his life
Opposes 287G immigration enforcement based on experience and human dignity

ALLISON PICKARD

Full interview with Anne Arundel County Executive candidate Allison Pickard

Meet the candidates for Anne Arundel County Executive: Allison Pickard

Key Campaign Message:
Pickard presents herself as the “successful legislator” who gets things done through coalition building and bipartisan cooperation. She emphasizes governing as a “team sport” and her proven ability to pass significant legislation.

Core Qualifications:

Legislative Track Record: Two terms on county council with major bill passage
Education Experience: Former Board of Education member during significant reforms
Coalition Building: Emphasizes bringing together labor and private sector supporters

Policy Priorities:

Housing: Strong “supply-side” advocate supporting zoning changes, transit-oriented development, and smaller lot sizes to increase overall housing stock
Environment: Proudest of creating Resilience Authority and securing federal partnerships
Education: Former Board of Education member supporting teacher pay increases and continued funding growth
Federal Relations: Strongest emphasis on leveraging federal partnerships and funding

Notable Positions:

Most detailed legislative accomplishments (Resilience Authority, education reforms)
Strongest advocate for market-based housing solutions
Helped create public financing system but chose traditional fundraising route
Most experience with federal grant acquisition and partnerships

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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Maryland

Comfortable and nice weather across Maryland into the weekend

Published

1 day ago

May 28, 2026

Press Room

Comfortable and nice weather across Maryland into the weekend

Updated on: May 28, 2026 / 8:59 AM EDT
/ CBS Baltimore

Refreshing and dry weekend weather in Maryland

Plunging humidity levels and dry weather will be around through the rest of the workweek. Highs Thursday and Friday will top out in the upper 70s with a mixture of clouds and sunshine.

This-coming weekend is looking much drier and better for all outdoor plans across the Mid-Atlantic, compared to Memorial Day Weekend. The First Alert Forecast is mostly dry and seasonable on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Plan on a mix of sun and clouds each day. Saturday and Sunday begin with temperatures in the 50s, followed by afternoons spent in the 70s. Humidity remains low, too.

The chance of rain increases a bit during the beginning of next workweek. The next chance of wetter wet arrives on Monday. The WJZ First Alert Weather Team will be fine-tuning the return of rain in the forecast… keeping you updated on WJZ, streaming on CBS News Baltimore and on-the-go in the CBS News App.

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