Michael Reid mreid@somdnews.com |Oct 17, 2023
Screen shot by MICHAEL REID/SOUTHERN MARYLAND NEWS
Chief Strategic Offer Jeff Maher discusses the upcoming Blueprint for Maryland’s Future town hall meetings at the the Oct. 11 board of education meeting.
There are town hall meetings about the state’s Blueprint education reform plan coming to a location near you and Chief Strategic Officer Jeff Maher expanded on the upcoming series during a St. Mary’s school board meeting held Oct. 11.
During a 10-minute presentation, Maher recapped the five pillars of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future: early childhood, teachers and leaders, college and career readiness, resources for student success, and governance and accountability.
“The idea is to engage the community in this conversation about the elements of the Blueprint and what’s going on,” Maher said.
The schedule for the town hall meetings — all of which will be held at 6 p.m. at the Dr. James A. Forrest Career & Technology Center in Leonardtown is as follows:
• Tuesday, Nov. 7 — Pillar 1: Early childhood;
• Tuesday, Dec. 5 — Pillar 4: Resources for student success;
• Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024 — Pillar 3: College and career readiness; and
• Tuesday, March 12, 2024 — Pillar 2: Teachers and leaders
Each meeting will provide an overview, information, updates and initiatives along with a panel discussion and breakout discussions and focus group sessions.
“Will there be a period during the town hall where the stakeholders can ask questions?” school board member Dorothy Andrews asked.
“Yes, that’s the purpose of the panel discussion,” Maher said. “We’ll start with a presentation and an overview of all the things that’s happening and then that panel discussion will allow for the opportunity for people who are leading the work to answer questions. The focus group will allow to hear from people and have a little bit more of a dialogue to have specific questions answered.”
