Maryland Invests $19 Million to Grow Educator Pipeline, Creating Pathways for Over 600 Staff

Governor Wes Moore has announced significant funding to bolster Maryland’s teaching force, with 13 local school systems set to receive a combined $19 million through an expansion of the Grow Your Own Educators Grant Program. This initiative is designed to create clearer career paths for individuals currently working in non-licensed school positions, enabling them to become fully licensed teachers. The program aims to address the state’s teacher shortage by recruiting and preparing existing school employees to transition into teaching roles while continuing their current employment. This effort builds on previous successes, with the administration reporting a nearly 50 percent reduction in teacher vacancies since its inception.

The newly awarded grants will support over 620 educators across all regions of Maryland. Among the largest recipients, Montgomery County Public Schools will receive $6 million to facilitate licensure pathways for more than 160 paraprofessionals, conditionally-licensed teachers, and apprentices. Additionally, a consortium of seven Eastern Shore school systems will collectively receive $4.6 million. Other notable grant awards include $3 million for Prince George’s County Public Schools, $2 million for Charles County, $1.8 million for Washington County, $985,540 for Worcester County, and $855,646 for Frederick County. These investments are intended to empower dedicated professionals already within school buildings, offering them a debt-free route to obtaining their teaching licenses.

A key focus of this grant round is the prioritization of recruiting and retaining male educators. This aligns with the governor’s broader efforts to provide positive mentorship and support social and emotional development for young men and boys through classroom opportunities. The initiative seeks to increase the diversity of the teaching workforce, which is seen as crucial for providing positive role models for students, creating stable and rewarding careers for Marylanders, and further reducing the teacher shortage.

Notable aspects of the grant awards include the Eastern Shore of Maryland Education Consortium, a collaborative effort by Caroline, Cecil, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s, Somerset, and Talbot school systems. This consortium serves as a model for how smaller districts can combine resources for greater regional impact. In Washington County, a partnership with Hagerstown Community College and Frostburg State University will establish a three-year bachelor’s degree program incorporating on-the-job training, with provisions for 100% credit transfer from the community college to the university. Prince George’s County Public Schools plans targeted recruitment strategies, including promotional materials featuring male representation and outreach to male affinity groups and through its Men Make a Difference Conference, to inform educators about the available pathways.

Various higher education institutions are partnering with local school systems and labor organizations to implement these programs. These include Bowie State University, Chesapeake College, College of Southern Maryland, Frostburg State University, Hagerstown Community College, McDaniel College, Notre Dame of Maryland University, Prince George’s Community College, Salisbury University, Towson University, the University of Maryland, College Park, and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. The Maryland State Education Association has emphasized the importance of investing in teaching as a profession, supporting these programs as a means to meet student needs and develop future educators.

The expansion of the Grow Your Own Educators Grant Program is a result of the Excellence in Maryland Public Schools Act, signed into law by Governor Moore last year. This act aims to address the teacher shortage through comprehensive recruitment campaigns and the support of debt-free pathways to teacher licensure. The Moore-Miller Administration’s commitment to educator recruitment and retention is also reflected in other initiatives, such as the Teacher Quality and Diversity Grant program, Maryland’s first state-sponsored registered apprenticeship program for teaching, and a partnership with teach.org to enhance the state’s national recruitment efforts.

Article by Mel Anara, based upon information from the Office of Governor Wes Moore

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