Maryland
Maryland schools rank 3rd in nation in post-pandemic reading recovery – WTOP News
Maryland schools made nation-leading strides in their recovery from students’ learning loss in the pandemic, data show.
Maryland schools made nation-leading strides in their recovery from students’ learning loss in the pandemic, according to new data.
They ranked third in the nation in their students’ reading recovery rates, and were fifth in math recovery, according to the 2025 Education Scorecard from Harvard and Stanford Universities and Dartmouth College.
D.C. led the U.S. in math and reading recovery.
The data was presented at the Maryland State Board of Education meeting Thursday.
Trish Brennan-Gac, executive director of literacy nonprofit Maryland READS, said the state board is correct to celebrate gains in reading, but proficiency is “nowhere near where we need to be.”
“It is not that we are No. 3-ranked in reading proficiency,” she told WTOP. “It’s a rate of change, and we are making a faster rate of change,” than most school districts nationally.
Brennan-Gac was at the meeting to ask that the state board consider ways to reduce the use of technology in classroom instruction and support a return to print and textbooks in schools.
“This is no longer a fringe concern. It is a growing movement, and it’s not about social media and phones,” she told the board.
Brennan-Gac said the board and Maryland schools superintendent Carey Wright can take a “visible meaningful leadership role.”
“You can develop transition guidance and funding pathways for districts that are ready to move now, and send a clear signal to the field that Maryland prioritizes developmentally appropriate instruction aligned to brain research that shows how books, not tech-based platforms, are effective in wiring kids’ brains for reading,” she said.
The Maryland State Department of Education has issued guidance to school districts on the use of cellphones in schools, and this year issued guidance on the use of artificial intelligence. In both instances, the state has made clear that it leaves implementation of policies to individual school districts.
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Maryland
Maryland governor celebrates Juneteenth in historically-Black Montgomery County community – WTOP News
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore spoke about the difference between liberation and freedom at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Scotland Juneteenth Heritage Festival, in one of Montgomery County’s oldest historic Black communities.
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Local leaders in Md. unite for Juneteenth Heritage Festival
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore spoke about the difference between liberation and freedom, in the opening ceremony of the 2026 Scotland Juneteenth Heritage Festival, in one of Montgomery County’s oldest historic Black communities.
In Cabin John Regional Park, Moore was joined by local dignitaries, including descendants of William Dove, the first formerly enslaved man who purchased 36 acres of farmland in 1880 for $210, located in what is now Potomac.
Moore said that ending slavery was an important moment of liberation, celebrated by Juneteenth, “but liberation is not freedom.”
Even after liberation, Moore said that “the idea of freedom became something that still remained elusive.”
When Dove purchased property in the Scotland community, Moore said that economic empowerment was a step toward freedom.
“The freedom to be able to own more than you owe. A freedom to be able to pass something along to your children besides debt. A freedom to be able to walk freely, knowing that you should be able to feel safe in your own community, in your own neighborhood, and in your own skin,” said Moore.
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© 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
A University of Maryland (UMD) football player was arrested for harassment, according to the Harford County Sheriff’s Office.
Dontay Joyner, a defensive back and rising senior at UMD, was charged with telephone misuse for making repeated calls, electronic communications harassment, and violating release conditions, a misdemeanor offense, according to court records.
Joyner’s attorney is calling the ordeal “outrageous,” saying “[Joyner] has been locked in a cage in Harford County for seven nights after being charged with a misdemeanor for telephone misuse for texting his longtime girlfriend during an argument. This is simply outrageous.”
Joyner’s attorney, Former Attorney General Douglas Gansler, said the 21-year-old has never been in trouble with the law and does not own a handgun. According to Gansler, Joyner’s girlfriend is “fully supportive of him and does not want to press charges.”
According to the UMD Terps website, Joyner is a Lakeland, Florida, native who previously attended Arkansas State. In the spring, Joyner was given the Nick Cross Defensive Back Award in a tradition that honors “past terrapin greats.”
According to court records, Joyner was held without bond.
WJZ has reached out to UMD officials for comment.
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