Behind the Blueprint: St. Mary's County

David M. Higgins II, Publisher/Editor

March 5

State Funding Per Pupil

The state's per-pupil funding for St. Mary's County Public Schools increased 38.4% between fiscal 2019 and fiscal 2024. That's the seventh highest increase among all 24 Maryland public school districts.

Per-pupil funding is based on a formula that utilizes the district's total enrollment and the characteristics of its students. It's too soon to know what the per-pupil funding level will be in the later years of the Blueprint.

Here's the district's initial Blueprint Implementation Plan. And here's what the state Accountability and Implementation Board – which oversees the Blueprint – had to say about St. Mary's County Public Schools' Blueprint Implementation Plan:

Strengths:

The plan utilizes a research-based hiring process to employ and retain more teachers from underrepresented groups.
The district has developed a "Freshman Academy" model that splits the freshman class into cohorts to hone in on academic skills and preparedness.
The St. Mary's college and career readiness plan offers more support in core courses, corequisites in certain courses for students who are not on track as well as an optional 13th year.
St. Mary's is establishing a pre-tech program for younger students to understand the different programs available to them.
For the 2024-25 school year, the district is establishing an early college high school program with a focus around first-generation students.

Needs improvement:

The district needs to improve its comprehensive plans for math and literacy, which must be tailored to the Blueprint requirements.
The district's plan to track teacher development is just now being put in place, and it also needs to be monitored and kept up to date.
The school system will collect data tracking student progress, but needs to be more specific about how it will intervene if needed if data shows that intervention is necessary.
The district could use technical help to create a career ladder for teachers that goes beyond salary incentives and National Board Certification.
St. Mary's needs to be more specific regarding its college and career readiness pathways and spell out exactly how AP or dual-enrollment programs will be maximized.