Priorities

PRIORITIES

a heart with text "healthy safe and positive school climate and culture"

Healthy, Safe, and Positive School Climate & Culture

Every Maryland student deserves a safe, nurturing, affirming, and culturally-inclusive learning environment that is free from bias and discrimination where Black and Latino students can thrive. Students should feel welcomed, fully seen, safe, and well-supported when they attend school.

Our state’s public schools must provide the conditions that promote healthy physical, mental, emotional, and academic development for all children – with an emphasis on positive experiences for Black and Latino students – to reach their highest potential.

We advocate for:

  • Increasing investments in evidence-based, student-centered resources such as school counselors, psychologists, behavioral therapists, and other mental health supports.
  • Expanding the use of trauma-informed, culturally competent, and restorative practices that prioritize student well-being over harmful and biased discipline policies.
  • Utilizing inclusive academic curricula that highlight and affirm the racial, cultural, and linguistic diversity of Maryland’s students.
  • Investing in mandatory anti-bias, anti-racist learning and professional development opportunities for teachers and school-based professionals to bolster best practices to serve diverse student populations.

Improving Data Reporting and Student Outcomes

Robust data reporting practices that support student academic success by enhancing the transparency needed to drive strategic investments.

Our state must require annual, publicly reported, and disaggregated data to serve as a critical tool for achieving education equity by illuminating student and community needs. 

We advocate for:

  • Publishing state, district, and school-level education data made available on official state and school district websites in the form of dashboards and reports to ensure accessibility.
  • Prioritizing data disaggregation that highlights race, ethnicity, gender, students with disabilities, socioeconomic status, and English Language proficiency.
  • Annual reporting on teacher and school leader retention, turnover, and vacancy data that is disaggregated by race, ethnicity, years of service, licensing, endorsements, subject, and grade.
a pie chart with text "improving data reporting and student outcomes"
3 arrows pointing upward with text "seeking funding & resource equity"

SEEKING FUNDING AND RESOURCE EQUITY

All students, regardless of their race, family income, or neighborhood, deserve to attend schools that are adequately and equitably funded to support students’ unique needs.

Our state must invest in quality public education for Maryland’s Black and Brown students.

We advocate for:

  • Allocating necessary resources at the district and state level to fully fund and implement The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future with fidelity.
  • Targeting additional education dollars toward districts and schools serving high-need, high-poverty communities. 
  • Ensuring education funding and expenditure information is reported annually and transparently to promote public understanding and accessibility

Respect, Retain, and Sustain Black & Brown
Teachers and Leaders

Representation matters. Research shows that when Black and Brown children have role models who look like them—teachers, school leaders, and counselors who affirm their racial and cultural identities—they achieve greater long-term academic success.  

Our state must intentionally address roadblocks in the education profession pipeline and prioritize solutions to create the conditions for long-term support and success.

We advocate for:

  • Investing in Grow-Your-Own programs, early career mentoring and residency models, and other pipelines where Black and Brown teacher candidates are supported to thrive.
  • Removing financial barriers to joining the educator workforce by offering adequate compensation to student-teachers and reimbursing candidates for any licensure or assessment and endorsement fees for passed tests.
  • Preparing and supporting educators to pursue and sustain careers in high-need subjects, programs (English Language Learners and students with disabilities), and schools.

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