State superintendent urges 'Academic Excellence' coaches and leader academy to sustain literacy gains

State Superintendent Doctor Wright told the State Board of Education on Feb. 20 that Maryland will press the General Assembly to create an Academic Excellence program that funds state instructional coaches and a Maryland School Leader Academy to mentor principals.

Wright described instructional coaching as a research-backed, non-evaluative model that supports teachers’ daily practice. “Strong, non-evaluative instructional coaching makes the biggest impact on a teacher’s practice,” she said, adding that state coaches would work alongside local district coaches and be assigned to support lowest-performing schools. Wright also highlighted a proposal to create a Maryland School Leader Academy that would match aspiring and current principals with experienced mentors to reduce principal turnover and improve school stability.

Wright and other MSDE leaders told the board they have been actively presenting the proposals to legislative committees and meeting with lawmakers in Annapolis. The superintendent said the department is promoting professional learning that is low- or no-cost to teachers, expanding principal mentoring, and emphasizing coaching in literacy and math as part of the governor’s legislative package.

Board members asked for more detail on implementing coaches and alignment with local systems. Wright said the plans would set statewide expectations and standards for coaching while keeping coaches employed by local systems so they can collaborate with local instructional leaders.

Ending: The superintendent framed the coach and leader academy proposals as central to sustaining recent gains in early literacy and to addressing teacher and principal retention as the department engages the legislature on funding and statutory changes.