The Maryland State Board of Education and Maryland State Department of Education are developing a multiyear Strategic Plan that will be released in three phases leading up to June 2023. The Strategic Plan will anchor the vision, mission, values, priorities, enablers, goals, and flagship programs, initiatives, and strategies to realize the…

The Maryland State Board of Education and Maryland State Department of Education are developing a multiyear Strategic Plan that will be released in three phases leading up to June 2023. The Strategic Plan will anchor the vision, mission, values, priorities, enablers, goals, and flagship programs, initiatives, and strategies to realize the…

The primary aim of engagement in this phase was to gain input from a wide range of stakeholders that represented the diversity of the state. A multi-pronged approach was developed to structure engagement for the strategic planning process to ensure flexible, responsive and iterative communication with stakeholders. A combination of virtual and…

Engagement in Phase 2 focused on refining the Phase 1 foundational elements such as the mission, vision, values, priorities and enablers, as well as identifying emerging goals and metrics. In addition to the engagement methods outlined in first phase, this phase involved discussions centered around data focused on specific regions in Maryland…

With this Strategic Plan, the Division of Special Education/ Early Intervention Services recommits to "Moving Maryland Forward"--introduced in 2013. With the shifting in the national, State, and local education landscape, Maryland has revisited the initial Plan to sharpen the steadfast focus to narrow the gaps for children with…

The Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) is charged with producing a statewide plan every four years that clearly outlines the priorities and major goals for the State's postsecondary system. The 2013-2017 State Plan for Postsecondary Education, "Maryland Ready," fulfills this charge and is the result of a year-long, collaborative…

There is an established history of academic libraries collaborating with their institutions' athletics departments to provide learning and research support to student-athletes in order to achieve positive educational outcomes. It is rarer to find documented the effect that athletics has had on the professional life of an academic librarian. The…

Rubric assessment of information literacy is an important tool for librarians seeking to show evidence of student learning. The authors, who collaborated on the Rubric Assessment of Informational Literacy Skills (RAILS) research project, draw from their shared experience to present practical recommendations for implementing rubric assessment in a…

Across the country, school district superintendents are transforming into community school leaders. Responsible for systems of learning that also include school nutrition, bussing, safety, finances, community engagement, and so much more, superintendents recognize that they need a different strategy to effectively address the learning needs of the…

The Task Force to Study the Impact of Expanding Credit and Noncredit Courses for Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities was formed in July 2013. Chapter 392, Acts of 2013, (House Bill 813) established the Task Force to Study the Impact of Expanding Credit and Noncredit Courses for Students with Intellectual and Developmental…

How can States address the continual and extraordinary challenge of sustaining and adapting the reforms they have implemented to improve student outcomes? What steps can States take to do so in the face of inevitably evolving conditions--such as a change in resources (for example, the end of a grant), leadership (a transition in personnel or…

This article reports on a case study at an inner-city nonprofit service agency that inquired into the ways integration of storytelling and visual art as a method of adult learning and way of knowing might influence the process of strategic visioning and planning in a nonprofit organization. The case study focuses on data collected through…

Faced with rising demand for information about early childhood programs, states need to find tools and strategies to monitor the progress of and to identify high-quality early childhood programs. In response, REL Mid-Atlantic convened a regional workgroup for state personnel who work with the systems containing early childhood data. The workgroup…

"Research Library Issues" ("RLI") focuses on current and emerging topics that are strategically important to research libraries. The articles explore issues, share information, pose critical questions, and provide examples. This issue includes the following articles: (1) Special Issue on Diversity (Mark A. Puente); (2)…

The purpose of this article is to describe lessons learned from studying the leadership in eight award-winning secondary schools and districts that were recognized for successfully leveraging technology as part of their efforts for school improvement. Data were collected through observations, interviews, and document analysis in schools and…