Maryland deans and directors push science‑of‑reading alignment, diversified teacher pipelines
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Summary
University deans told the State Board that literacy, intensive practice, and multiple entry pathways into teaching are priorities: faculty professional development on the science of reading, early clinical experiences, residencies and grow‑your‑own programs to recruit paraprofessionals and conditional teachers.
A coalition of Maryland educator preparation deans outlined steps the state’s higher education institutions are taking to align teacher preparation with the science of reading and to diversify and expand the teacher pipeline.
Laurie Henry, dean of the Seidel School of Education at Salisbury University, and Afrah Hersey, dean of the School of Education at Loyola University Maryland, co‑presented a summary of collaborative work by Maryland’s deans and directors of educator preparation. They said institutions have enrolled faculty in a SUNY‑sponsored science‑of‑reading course, launched learning‑by‑scientific‑design networks, and expanded clinical experiences so teacher candidates practice evidence‑based methods in real classrooms.
"We want to make sure that our students are ready to teach reading on day 1," Henry said, noting that 175 faculty had enrolled in the SUNY course and 63 had completed it. The deans emphasized early, scaffolded practicum experiences — including literacy clinics, micro‑residencies and apprenticeship models — and cited two university Eyetracking (EMMA) labs as research assets for dyslexia and reading research.
Deans also described targeted programs to diversify the workforce: UMES’s “Men on the Shore,” Salisbury’s “Women Who Rise,” Bowie State’s Black Male Teacher Initiative, and local paraprofessional‑to‑teacher pathways. Afrah Hersey highlighted new residency and apprenticeship pilots, including a Baltimore Teacher Apprenticeship Program developed with Baltimore County and national partners. Several campuses described stacked, seamless pathways (associate-to‑bachelor’s with certification) and partnerships with community colleges to create rapid routes into the classroom.
The deans said Maryland institutions are also supporting in‑service teachers through national board certification cohorts and micro‑credentials for coaching. They warned that conditionally certified teachers and adult learners require flexible program delivery and sustained mentoring.
Ending: The deans asked for continued state‑level collaboration with MSDE on faculty development, accreditation alignment, and shared data to measure how different pathways affect teacher supply and student learning.
