Anne Arundel readiness report: staffing gains, new Canvas LMS and transportation plans ahead of fall start

Superintendent Dr. Bedell told the Anne Arundel County Board of Education that the district is largely prepared for the 2025–26 school year, citing improved hiring, facilities work and the launch of Canvas, the district’s new learning management system.

The readiness presentation — led by Dr. Bedell and cabinet members including Dr. Heizer (chief operating officer), Jessica Kuches (human resources) and Miss Catalano (academics leadership) — outlined hiring figures, facility upgrades, transportation routing and student-program expansions that district leaders said position the system to open on schedule.

District leaders said the system has hired 544 new teachers so far from a pool of 2,161 applicants and reported 120 fewer resignations compared with the same date last year. Dr. Bedell highlighted the retention trend and the scale of the district, noting, "the obstacles they have overcome will only make them stronger," while describing summer programs and staff development.

Board members were given a set of operational and program numbers: the district serves nearly 85,000 students; the division of specialized instruction filled 127 positions this summer (30 new); the district served about 6,000 students in summer learning across 40 locations; 621 educators are enrolled in a Maryland State Department of Education–approved science-of-reading course with 413 completed so far; and pre-K will open with 2,764 three- and four-year-old seats, an increase of about 400 seats across 138 classrooms.

Facility and operations details included projects at 83 of 130 school buildings, seven new security vestibules, six roof replacements, seven playground replacements and 13 HVAC/boiler projects. Facilities staff reported cleaning 14,300,000 square feet over the summer. The district said more than $124,000,000 in renovations at Meade High School were made possible in large part through Department of Defense funding; the superintendent described a pending ribbon-cutting planned with the board.

On technology, district staff described the replacement of Brightspace with Canvas as the district’s new learning management system. The presenters said courses were migrated and that families can find tutorials and resources at www.aacps.org/lms. "Canvas will house all things teaching and learning for our students, our teachers, and our families," one presenter told the board.

Human Resources reported progress on compensation and recruitment: teacher starting salaries were reported as "over $61,000" for the traditional scale and "over $63,000" for special education teachers (the latter figure includes a $2,000 differential mentioned by the district). HR said 544 new teachers had been hired to date; by comparison the district had hired 602 new teachers at the same point the prior year, a change HR attributed to improved retention.

The district gave specific staffing-vacancy counts: 32 classroom vacancies (down from 69 the prior year and 171 two years ago), 42 teaching-assistant vacancies, three school counselor vacancies, and no current vacancies in school psychologist or social worker positions. Food and Nutrition Services reported 81 vacancies (54 associate positions and 27 manager/assistant manager positions) and said 17 applicants were in processing for associate roles.

Transportation officials described a new routing platform (Transfinder) and said families can now check eligibility and assigned stops online. Officials said 57,200 students will be transported daily across 681 routes that cover 53,291 miles (roughly 10,000,000 miles annually). The district reported zero current bus-driver vacancies for contracted buses, with 61 drivers in training, and zero vacancies for alternative vehicles while 4 drivers were in training for those routes. Officials asked for patience in the first two to three weeks as routes and dry runs settle.

Board members asked clarifying questions about alternative vehicle positions and confirmed that four new alternative-vehicle positions had been added and two had already been hired. Dr. Heizer summarized operational readiness and urged families to check the district website for any service interruptions.

The presentation also highlighted leadership and professional learning investments, including a new two-day leadership conference for principals and assistant principals, national board certification counts, and summer professional development sessions tied to Advanced Placement, AVID and IB. The district said 50 staff were trained in crisis prevention and intervention and that a division symposium drew more than 330 participants.

Board members responded with praise and several thanked staff for the hiring, facilities work and the LMS transition. President Silkworth closed the update and invited questions from the board.

Looking ahead, district leaders said site-level onboarding and family resources for Canvas were available online and that the district will continue recruiting for remaining vacancies throughout the fall.