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MSDE launches state literacy coaching pilot in Prince George’s County, seeks legislative funds to scale
Summary
MSDE outlined three statewide coaching initiatives — a $3M philanthropic early literacy/math network, a math improvement network, and a $5.8–6M two‑year literacy coaching pilot in Prince George’s County with state‑hired coaches — and said it will seek legislative funding to expand coaches statewide.
Maryland education leaders described a multi‑part strategy to expand instructional coaching statewide and to pilot state‑employed literacy coaches in Prince George’s County.
MSDE officials said philanthropic partners provided about $3 million to seed an early literacy and math coaching network that trains district coaches and principals and funds on‑site follow‑up. Separately, the Maryland Math School Improvement Network launched this month to work with selected LEAs and identify promising practices for grades 4–8.
The core Academic Excellence Program (AEP) literacy pilot is funded with roughly $5.8–$6.0 million in philanthropic support for a two‑year effort in Prince George’s County. MSDE has hired seven state literacy coaches for cohort 1 (assigned to one or two elementary schools each) and plans a second cohort that would add about 15 coaches, reaching 22 total. Coaches provide job‑embedded, one‑on‑one support for K–3 teachers, use MSDE measurement tools, and participate in external evaluation. MSDE officials said about $4 million of the pilot funding is allocated to salaries over the two years and that philanthropic funds are managed directly by MSDE to pay coach salaries.
Board members asked for measurable indicators of impact; MSDE said it will align coach deployment with outcome measures (for example, ELA proficiency trends) and noted that the early literacy network uses the same measurement tools to permit cross‑program comparison. Officials emphasized that the pilot will inform a statewide model and that securing legislative funding will be necessary to scale coaches and add state math coaches.
Next steps: MSDE will continue to recruit coaches for cohort 2, support the math improvement network, run external evaluations of the pilot and networks, and pursue legislative funding to scale successful models.
