Community partners press for early exposure, internships and mental-health supports to meet Maryland’s college- and career-readiness goals

Community partners at a Maryland Department of Education roundtable on the agency's strategic plan focused much of the discussion on Priority 4: ensuring Maryland students are college- and career-ready. Participants described programs and gaps and pressed for early exposure, stronger internship pipelines, multilingual supports and mental-health capacity.

Dr. Tanya Milner, provost and vice president for learning at Anne Arundel Community College, said higher-education partners offer programs such as 'kids in college' to expose elementary and middle-school students to college settings early. "That exposure, as early as possible, is very important," Milner said. Alex Warwick Adams, executive director of Elevate Baltimore, described literacy and exposure programs and urged more access for alternative pathway students. Carrie Akins, director of career and technical education for Calvert County Public Schools, stressed that modern CTE must be presented as a pathway that also connects to postsecondary options and apprenticeships.

Participants raised barriers to CCR: late-arriving multilingual learners who lack early supports (Erin Sullivan, ESOL coordinator, Baltimore County), limited internship placements that lag rapidly changing career markets (Alex Warwick Adams), neighborhood and school climate concerns that affect early attendance and engagement (Lonnie Vick), and resource constraints for community nonprofits trying to scale successful short-term programs (Joyce Glasby, Chosen Community Development Corporation).

On questions about community-school funding, Mary Gabel (assistant [title as spoken in transcript] for student support, academic enrichment and policy) said the funding comes from the Blueprint legislation and described how grants were phased in: personnel grants to qualifying high-poverty schools began in FY20; per-pupil concentration-of-poverty grants began in FY22; the qualification threshold started at roughly 80% poverty and will phase down, settling at about 55% poverty by FY25–FY27. "It is state funding that is part of the blueprint," Gabel said.

Rob Schmidt, Talbot County mental-health coordinator, highlighted the Maryland School Mental Health Response Program — a partnership MSDE supports that connects school-based social workers and providers with psychiatric consultation to troubleshoot difficult cases earlier.

Participants recommended concrete supports: regular career fairs and exposure starting in elementary grades; dual enrollment and partnerships with community colleges; structured internships and employer pipelines; targeted programs and bilingual pathways for English learners; and sustained funding and coordination to scale weeklong or summer programs into longer-term offerings.

The roundtable closed with MSDE and board staff thanking participants and asking stakeholders to continue to provide feedback via the department's online survey. No formal votes or policy adoptions occurred during the session.