Learning Forward and its affiliate, Learning Forward Maryland, are pleased to announce Standards for Professional Learning are at work in Maryland in the 2024-25 school year guiding new statewide initiatives to support and retain great teachers and leaders through ongoing collaborative professional learning. Maryland recently adopted Learning Forward’s Standards for Professional Learning (2022) and, separately, awarded Learning Forward its $1.9 million System of Professional Learning Grant to develop a new professional learning system tied to teachers’ career ladder.

Learning Forward Maryland’s board of directors extended its support to state education leaders’ recent actions to elevate skillful teaching and engaged learning: “On behalf of the Maryland affiliate of Learning Forward, we are thrilled that the state of Maryland has adopted the Learning Forward Standards for Professional Learning. Maryland educators and students will benefit tremendously from the adoption of the standards because we know that providing high-quality professional learning results in improved and more equitable teaching and learning. Ultimately, this focus on professional learning will lead to better outcomes for Maryland students. It was a great decision by the State Department of Education to award Learning Forward the new grant because of their expertise in high-quality professional learning systems.”

Frederick Brown, Learning Forward President and CEO, said through Maryland’s Blueprint and investments in ensuring high-quality teaching practices, Maryland is establishing itself as a national pacesetter for focused system improvements that lead to enriched learning experiences for all students. “Providing teachers and leaders with ongoing standards-based opportunities and resources to hone their craft is essential to its plan,” he said. “Learning Forward is honored to be a professional learning partner to Maryland.”

Maryland adopts Standards for Professional Learning; shares plan for statewide implementation

The Maryland State Board of Education unanimously voted in June to adopt Learning Forward’s Standards for Professional Learning. State Superintendent of Schools, Carey M. Wright, hailed the standards as the “gold standard in the field” of professional learning. In a memo to board members, Wright emphasized the need for a “research-based framework” to guide professional learning in Maryland, stating that the standards will play a crucial role in enhancing teacher instruction and, ultimately, student outcomes. The board’s decision followed a presentation by Deputy State Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Deann Collins and Elise Brown, Executive Director of Professional Learning and High-Quality Instructional Materials. Brown pointed to research that found consistent evidence that program alignment with 2022 Standards for Professional Learning is associated with improved teacher instruction and student achievement outcomes.

“As we look at teacher instruction, you’ll notice out of the 11 Standards for Professional Learning, 10 had statistically significant outcomes for teacher instruction, meaning they were applying what they were learning in the classroom, which is what we want to see, right? We don’t want to waste anybody’s time,” Brown said. “Only one of those was not statistically significant, but it did have a positive impact on teaching practices. And then when we look at student achievement, again, we see that all 11 had positive impact on student achievement. Ten of the 11 were statistically significant as well.”

Brown also walked board members through the three categories within the professional learning standards framework – rigorous content for each learner; transformational processes; and conditions for success. “This is really developing our educators as leaders, Brown said. “We are branching out so that the learning doesn’t stop at the teacher when they leave the professional learning. It’s continuing in the building as they grow as a school community.”

During the board presentation Deputy State Superintendent Collins said, to meet the objectives outlined in the state Blueprint, Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) and Local Education Agencies (LEAs) need to provide high-quality professional learning and training to educators. She laid out steps for standards adoption and implementation including incorporating standards into Maryland’s induction regulations; building capacity around high-quality professional learning across all offices and initiatives at Maryland State Department of Education, and: providing systemic support to local education agencies.

“We know that professional learning is a lever for teachers and students to improve, but not all professional learning is created equally,” Brown told state education board members. “It is really important for us to signal as an agency the value of high-quality professional learning that is grounded in standards. When we see that happening, what we’re also going to see is growth in teacher practice and their knowledge, which in turn will impact student outcomes.”

Paul Fleming, Learning Forward’s Chief Learning Officer, commended Maryland for adopting high-quality professional learning standards, noting the significance of this decision in setting a strong framework for professional learning in the state. He highlighted that multiple states have also embraced these standards, which were revised in 2022 to provide evidence-based strategies and competencies for educators.

Learning Forward chosen to partner with MSDE to establish a new system of professional learning

Learning Forward was awarded a System of Professional Learning Grant from the Maryland State Department of Education in July. The $1.9 million competitive grant invests in professional learning by training teams from each of the 24 districts in the state to provide all teachers with the skills needed to grow their capacity to positively impact PreK-12 student outcomes. Learning Forward is leading the one-year project to develop a new professional learning system tied to teachers’ career ladder.

“We are honored that our proposal for the System of Professional Learning grant was chosen by the Maryland State Department of Education,” said Learning Forward President and CEO Frederick Brown. “The work funded through this grant will help Maryland advance critical aspects of its Blueprint plan to invest meaningfully in teachers’ capacity and career paths. We applaud Maryland for elevating the critical role of high-quality professional learning in high-performing schools and for making an investment at the system level,” Brown said.

The project involves aligning Maryland’s system-wide professional learning. Under the grant, Learning Forward’s professional services group is leading the design of learning modules with content focused in eight areas. They are:

  • Lead and mentor teams of professionals to promote professional learning among colleagues
  • Collaborate with colleagues to improve student performance
  • Design and support collaborative professional learning for teachers pursuing National Board Certification
  • Provide advanced training on the science of learning specific to individual disciplines
  • Provide instruction and school-based services utilizing racial equity and cultural competency principles and best-practices
  • Select and implement evidence-based instructional practices for students with disabilities and multilingual learners
  • Implement restorative practices and trauma-informed responses; and
  • Implementation of high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) at the classroom level

Learning Forward has connected with colleagues at University of Maryland College of Education’s Center for Educational Innovation and Improvement who will support content of the learning modules for the district teams under the state professional learning grant.

“Maryland’s system-wide approach to empowering educators to be proficient learning leaders for others will accelerate impact and expand career opportunities for them to stay in education and thrive,” said Learning Forward’s Paul Fleming. “The new professional learning system is aligned with Blueprint for Maryland’s Future’s vision for elevating the teaching profession through strategies that are rooted in evidence of positive impact on learners, including those who have been historically underserved.”

Blueprint for Maryland’s Future envisions a paradigm shift in every school in the state to ensure every student receives a world-class education.

Learning Forward media contact:

Gail Paul | media@learningforward.org | 513-379-8153