State board committee reviews Maryland State Department of Education strategic plan emphasizing early literacy and teacher supports

The Maryland State Board of Education Transformation and Accountability Committee heard a broad overview of the Maryland State Department of Education’s strategic plan, including the four priorities that will drive targets and monitoring statewide, MSDE staff said.

Matthew Duque, director of research, planning and program evaluation at the Maryland State Department of Education, told the committee the plan was developed in three phases—mission and values, goals and metrics, and targets with programs and strategies—and was presented to the state board in June. Duque said the plan anchors on four priorities: ensuring students are ready for kindergarten; ready to read by the end of third grade; ready for high school; and ready for college and career.

The plan also identifies four enablers the department says are necessary to achieve those priorities: high‑quality data and reporting; high‑quality curricula and systems for intervention; elevating and diversifying the teaching profession through prep and career‑ladder policies; and student social‑emotional supports and community partnerships. Duque said MSDE conducted extensive outreach, reporting "over 40,000 connections" including nearly 30,000 survey responses and multiple regional events to inform the plan.

MSDE will set baselines and three‑year projections for each goal before tracking progress annually and disaggregating results by local education agency and student groups, Duque said. He told the committee the department has "baseline data for pretty much everything that we can" and will publish projections and targets once they are finalized.

Board members praised the outreach and asked for clarity on cadence and communications. Clarence Crawford, president of the State Board, said the outreach "has been outstanding," and committee members pressed MSDE to post baseline metrics publicly and to explain where more frequent data collection is not possible. Duque said most measures are annual (for example, state assessments and statewide surveys) and confirmed MSDE would share baselines and projections when ready.

The committee requested monthly updates on implementation and asked MSDE to report how many internal staff have participated in planning sessions to ensure departmentwide engagement. MSDE staff said internal charrettes and staff engagement are underway and that the department will follow up with the committee on specific communications plans.

The committee did not take any formal action on the strategic plan during the meeting; staff indicated additional implementation details and targets will be brought back to the committee for review prior to broader board action.