Review committee finds curriculum and student-support plans inconsistent or incomplete; MTSS and safety cited as concerns

The charter review committee told the board it found inconsistencies between the written application, submitted materials and capacity interviews when it came to curriculum and delivery models. Committee members said the application suggested an interest in Hillsdale College materials and a classical-model approach (trivium, Orton-Gillingham and the science of reading), but reviewers said there was insufficient detail about how those approaches would be implemented to meet Maryland's requirements for high-quality instructional materials and the Blueprint.

The committee also raised concerns about MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) processes: parts of the application contained an inverted MTSS pyramid and staff said there was not a clear articulated plan for delivering academic or behavioral multi-tiered interventions. Reviewers worried that overreliance on volunteers and founding-family supports, without clear staffing or contractual buybacks for related services, could leave marginalized students without consistent supports.

School-safety processes were another point of concern. Reviewers noted the applicant proposed different alert/secure procedures than CCPS's ALICE-based protocols and said school resource officers and other agencies train on ALICE; the committee recommended ensuring consistency or clear coordination with district emergency operations plans.

Applicant representatives said they were open to teaching state standards, will follow MCAP testing requirements and would seek curricular approval where necessary; they argued that some classical methods (e.g., reduced in-class technology use) are pedagogical choices rather than refusals to meet standards. The board asked the applicants to provide a detailed, operational plan for MTSS, a staffing matrix matched to curricular promises and a timeline for any curriculum approvals they plan to seek.