Calvert County Public Schools outlines progress, gaps in Blueprint for Maryland's Future implementation
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Summary
CCPS staff briefed the Board of Education on progress under the state Blueprint for Maryland's Future, reporting expansions in full-day Pre-K, career-ladder work for teachers, early college growth and new community-school planning while noting funding and space constraints.
Calvert County Public Schools officials told the Board of Education on Tuesday that the district is on track with several major elements of the state's Blueprint for Maryland's Future but still faces space, staffing and funding challenges.
The update was delivered by a CCPS implementation lead who presented accomplishments and next steps across the blueprint's five pillars: early childhood, teacher career ladders, college-and-career readiness, student supports and governance and accountability.
The presentation said the district now has at least one full-day Pre-K classroom for 4-year-olds in every elementary school and reported an increase in full-day Pre-K enrollment from 227 students (September, prior year) to 253 students this year. CCPS also said it is applying for a Pre-K expansion grant that would add about 80 seats if awarded. The presenter described work on an MSDE-approved Pre-K curriculum, accreditation activity (four schools rated Maryland ExCELS 4 of 5 and scheduled for re-evaluation) and efforts to vet paraprofessionals for a one-time Child Development Associate (CDA) exemption offered by MSDE.
"We are continuing the training of our early childhood educators and developing a formal tracking system for Pre-K credentialing," the presenter said.
Under pillar two, CCPS said it has negotiated a career ladder and is emphasizing National Board Certification (NBC) as a driver of professional learning; the update listed 56 educators already NBC-certified and 61 actively pursuing the credential. The district also told the board it received roughly $40,000 in state grant funding for rollout of the required professional learning series, though staff cautioned the final award amount may differ from the initial notice.
For college-and-career readiness (pillar three), the district said it has formalized career-and-college readiness (CCR) pathways including Advanced Placement, dual enrollment and early college and that early-college participation rose in January year-to-year. CCPS said that a planned two-year early-college option would substantially increase enrollment (presenter cited a projected 319% increase in students accessing early college when the two-year option is added).
On pupil supports (pillar four), CCPS reported training for special educators and some general educators in specially designed instruction; rollout of restorative practices, Trauma-Informed approaches and the LSCI framework; and plans to place a restorative-practices facilitator in every school next year. The district also said it has established a community-schools implementation team and is assessing two schools that may qualify for community-school status this summer; that identification would bring planning-year personnel grants followed by per-pupil funds.
Under governance and accountability (pillar five), staff said the district's implementation plan was approved by the state Authority for the Implementation Board (AIB) in November, that expert-review teams have visited Huntington High School and Park Elementary, and that CCPS is working with its strategic partners to define minimum school-funding requirements and progress-monitoring criteria for AIB reporting.
Board members pressed presenters on a range of implementation questions. One board member sought clarification on the presenter's 450% Pre-K increase figure; staff acknowledged the percentage referenced different baseline measures and provided the September enrollment counts above when asked. Another board member asked which funding sources pay for blueprint elements; Chief Financial Officer Scott Johnson said he and staff would follow up with a breakdown. Staff acknowledged some work depends on state or grant funding and cannot be sustained with current local resources alone.
Why this matters: the Blueprint for Maryland's Future is a multi-year, statewide education reform law that prescribes new programs, staff credentials and funding streams; CCPS's presentation outlined how the district plans to meet the law's timelines while signaling key constraints on space, staff capacity and recurring funding.
The superintendent and staff will return with additional implementation detail, and the board took no formal action on the report itself. The presentation included numerous follow-up items that staff said they would provide to the board, including final counts, grant details and credential-tracking timelines.
