The Blueprint Quarterly

Hello! I am Dr. Sarah Sirgo, the Chief of Staff and Blueprint Implementation Coordsinator for Frederick County Public Schools. Welcome to the January 2026 issue of The Blueprint Quarterly - a communication tool dedicated to providing our students, staff, families, and community members up-to-date information about the Blueprint implementation in FCPS.

Please enjoy this quarterly update and visit our website to learn more at www.fcps.org/Blueprint

On October 8, 2025, the FCPS Blueprint Steering Committee and Superintendent, Dr. Dyson, met with members of the Accountability and Implementation Board (AIB) and Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) to discuss and examine our progress regarding Blueprint implementation. Our monitoring summary report, which can be found at the link below, includes some of the following highlights.

• Frederick County Public Schools reports measurable progress in implementing the Blueprint: full-day Pre-K enrollment has surged from 742 to 1,280 students, all half-day Pre-K programs have converted to full-day, and centralized enrollment with income-based prioritization is now in place — including stronger support for students with disabilities, multilingual learners, and those experiencing homelessness.
• The district has also significantly improved teacher recruitment and retention: staff vacancies fell from 121 to 53 FTE, and overall teacher retention rebounded to 94 % in 2025 (with new-teacher retention at 91%).
• FCPS has expanded “Grow Your Own” pathways, inclusive hiring, and support for advanced certification, helping to build a more stable and diverse workforce.

As part of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, all school districts must ensure that a required share of per-pupil formula funding is spent directly at the school level. This applies to major programs including Foundation, Compensatory Education, Special Education, Multilingual Learners, Pre-K, Transitional Supplemental Instruction, Comparable Wage Index, and College & Career Readiness. Districts must report monthly on school-by-school spending and reach full compliance by the 2026–2027 school year.

For FY2025, FCPS met MSF in the aggregate for 92.5% (62 of 67) schools; however, only 7 schools (10.4%) met the standard in every program individually. This is not the outcome of resource allocation, rather a reflect of growth in needs outpacing revenue increases, enrollment shifts, staffing changes, and funding formulas based on prior-year enrollment, all of which contribute to challenges in meeting MSF. For all school systems, absent changes in the MSF formula, if a school system does not fully meet requirements by FY2026, the Accountability and Implementation Board could withhold up to 25% of the increase in State education aid, representing an estimated $4.1 million impact for FCPS.

We are currently preparing to submit a waiver request for MSF by the March 1, 2026 deadline.

The total cost of fully implementing the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future is projected to grow from $1.6 billion in FY 2024 to more than $4 billion in coming years, raising concerns about the state’s ability to sustain such growth amid broader budget pressures. With state revenue growth expected to lag behind rising education costs, structural budget gaps may persist throughout the decade. In response, some lawmakers have proposed pausing, delaying, or modifying certain Blueprint provisions, including scaling back initiatives or restructuring funding streams. These developments mean districts, such as FCPS, must plan with flexibility, as potential legislative changes could affect budgeting, staffing, and long-term strategy. We will be watching this work throughout the upcoming legislative session in 2026.

The new statewide report from the Governor's Workforce Development Board (GWDB), via its CTE Committee, shows that the career-counseling initiative is off to a strong start across the state.

While there's encouraging local innovation - many districts, including FCPS, have hired career counselors and introduced career-exploration tools such as interest inventories, job shadowing, internships, resume workshops, and career fairs - the report also highlights important challenges. Across Maryland, practices vary widely in how career counselors are hired, trained, and deployed; in some places, one counselor services many schools, while others have larger teams. This variation, along with differing budgeting and staffing standards, can lead to unequal access and inconsistent quality from district to district.

To strengthen the system, the report recommends greater statewide alignment: clearer decision-making frameworks, shared data systems, common standards for counselor qualifications and training, and more consistent delivery models - while still allowing flexibility to meet local needs.

Overall, the report makes clear that Maryland's career-counseling program has laid solid groundwork: the structures and partnerships are in place, early services are underway, and there is thoughtful reflection on how to make the system fairer and more effective for all students.

This new interagency pathway plan is designed to give students clearer, more connected routes from high school into college, training programs, and good-paying jobs. For FCPS families, this could mean more opportunities for students to explore high-demand careers earlier, participate in dual enrollment experiences, and move into local industries that need skilled workers, like cybersecurity, biotech, health sciences, construction trades, and advanced manufacturing. These coordinated pathways could lead to stronger partnerships with local employers and Frederick Community College, helping FCPS students graduate with confidence and a head start on their futures.

We invite you to explore the full report by clicking the button below to learn how this important work is taking shape in FCPS and across Maryland.

The AIB recently approved the release of FY 26 state Blueprint funds to 22 local school systems that met required implementation benchmarks, including FCPS, who demonstrated accountability under the Blueprint that reforms are being implemented equitably and thoroughly.

FCPS is making measurable strides in both student achievement and equitable funding. In Grade 3 English Language Arts (ELA), proficiency for all students rose from 54.8% in 2022 to 64.9% in 2025, a very impressive 10.1-point gain, ranking the system 7th in the state and well above the statewide increase of 4.2 points! Our district's stong focus on early literacy and targeted student support is reflected in this growth.

At the same time, strategic investment of budgeted funds in school-level programs is ensuring resources directly reach students. In FY25, nearly all funding areas, including foundation programs, special education, concentration of poverty grants, and Pre-K, were allocated at the school level, with several areas exceeding 100% of required coding. Budgeted expenditures for FY26 show continued commitment, particularly in special education, compensatory education, and Pre-K programs.

We invite you to explore the full data from the AIB below, to see exactly how FCPS is meeting state goals and helping every student thrive!

The CTE Committee has approved its 2025–2026 ERT Deployment Plan under Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, which mandates that the Expert Review Team (ERT) visit every public high school in Maryland offering Career & Technical Education (CTE) by July 1, 2031, with at least 10 % of CTE schools visited each year. For the 2025–2026 school year, the ERT will complete visits to the remaining 11 Local Education Agencies (LEAs), targeting two representative schools per LEA, where possible, including both comprehensive high schools and CTE centers. FCPS hosted its visit on December 11, 2025.

These site visits, which include pre-visit orientation, full-day school tours, focus groups, interviews, and post-visit reporting, aim to assess whether local CTE programs align with the Blueprint’s vision, identify challenges (such as access and completion gaps), surface promising practices, and support LEAs with technical assistance. Findings from the visits will inform annual reports starting December 2025, helping track statewide progress toward the goal that by 2030–2031, 45 % of Maryland high school graduates earn a high-school level apprenticeship or industry-recognized credential.

FCPS remains a model for other CTE programs across the state and was delighted to host the ERT visit!

Don't Blame the Blueprint (commentary) - Education is an investment, not a liability.

Governor announces first round of grants for $19M teacher recruitment program - Grow Your Own initiative will prioritize the recruitment of male teachers.

State Board of Ed to study new school rating system - review of report recommends elimination of the star system.

Maryland schools make slight gains on annual report card - but rating system could be changed.

Teachers don't know how to teach reading - Maryland can fix that - commentary

AI is being used in schools - statewide guidance is a work in progress

Early childhood education starting to draw attention - finally, advocates say

FCPS Educator Named 2026 Maryland Teacher of the Year - ALonna Soward-Puryear is a fourth-grade teacher at Monocacy Elementary School.

State Board President, State Superintendent issue statement on USED organizational changes - MSDE and the State Board expressed concern about the USDE's reorganization while reaffirming commitments to maintaining high standards and support for Maryland public school students.

MSDE, State Board issue charter School Funding Proposal - draft regulation released to establish Maryland's first transparent, equitable funding formula for public charter schools, aligning funding with the Blueprint and opening a public review process.

MSDE Releases Annual Maryland School Report Card - state, district, and school-level results for 2025

State Assessment Scores Rising in Mathematics and English Language Arts - MCAP results for the 2024-2025 school year continue to rebound.

In September, Vice Chair Brit Kirwan provided remarks during the Inaugural Maryland Statewide Literacy Summit, hosted by AIB partners, the Maryland Initiative for Literacy and Equity (MILE) and the Maryland State Department of Educaiton (MSDE). At this summit statewide leaders in literacy were brought together in order to create a collaborative vision for literacy in Maryland. Vice Chair Kirwan's remarks on the importance of literacy for Blueprint success can be found here.

The AIB has shared updates on possible legislative recommendations, for the upcoming session, that have been discussed in previous meetings, including a recent joint meeting with the MSDE.

As of November 6th, the AIB has completed Progress Monitoring Conferences with all 24 LEAs. According to the AIB, the conferences were productive, collaborative, and helpful to establish next steps in supporting Blueprint implementation statewide.

The AIB staff determined that FCPS's Career Counseling MOU submission meets the requirements for year three implementation. The career counseling partners are required to maintain an up-to-date MOU describing partner roles and responsibilities, budget and funding collaboration, and staffing plans. The MOU between FCPS, the Frederick County Workforce Services, and Frederick Community College was approved by the Board.

Julie Nguyen serves as the Director of Human Resources for Frederick County Public Schools (FCPS), where she leads a team of 33 professionals supporting more than 8,000 employees across the school system. With over 23 years of experience in public education, spanning human resources, technology integration, and school-based roles, Julie brings a systems-oriented approach to compliant HR practices, equity, and building efficiencies. She is one of the co-chairs of our Pillar 2 work, contributing to our Blueprint expectations to diversify and support high quality educators in FCPS.

In her current role, Julie oversees staffing, benefits administration, employee relations, certification and licensure, HRIS operations, and state employee-related compliance reporting. She is deeply involved in policy development, talent acquisition and succession planning, labor relations, and Title IX matters.

Julie holds a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Human Resource Management from Fitchburg State University and a Bachelor of Science in Human Resources Management from the University of Phoenix. In addition, she is a Society for Human Resource Management – Certified Professional (SHRM-CP) and has completed specialized training in Title IX, ADA compliance, child abuse investigations, and substance abuse testing in the workplace.

As an active member of SHRM, Maryland Association of School Professional Administrators (MASPA), and several professional HR associations, she is passionate about collaborative leadership, continuous improvement, and ensuring that organizational structures support every child, every day, while also making FCPS the employer of choice.

Pillar Two of Maryland’s Blueprint for the Future focuses on developing and sustaining high-quality teachers and school leaders. This pillar’s focus recognizes that student success depends on the quality of educators and leaders, and emphasizes the investment in systems that professionalize, support, and sustain Maryland’s education workforce.

The team’s work on Pillar Two has not only focused on strengthening and sustaining our educator workforce, but has also developed structures to grow and support employees, improved employee retention, developed school leaders, advanced equity and diversity in our workplace, developed career structures and pathways, and created sustainable systems for data-driven decision-making.

Overall, this focus has helped to strengthen our educator pipeline and not just identify the points of entry. Our Grow Your Own pathways, bias-reducing hiring practices, career ladder, National Board Certification, and exit survey analysis reflects an intentional effort to build long-term workforce stability. Our strong employee retention rates reflect recognition that employees stay when they experience belonging, growth, and support. Through expansions in induction, mentoring, the Employee Resource Group, development of an ambassador program, and structured supports for conditionally certificated teachers, support staff to grow into educator roles, and educators to grow into administrator roles, this wok demonstrates a comprehensive approach to retention that values employee voice and professional identity.

Collectively, this work reflects our investment in developing our employees, strengthening our system, and creating a workplace culture where employees can thrive and stay with FCPS.

We want to hear your thoughts on the FCPS implementation of the Blueprint. Please click on one or more of the links to share thoughts on the Blueprint pillar areas of focus. The responses to any of the following will be reported back to FCPS staff directly.

• Pillar 1: Early Childhood (Pre-K expansion, Kindergarten Readiness, Judy Centers) Pillar 1 Reflections
• Pillar 2: Elevating Educators (Career Ladder, Diversity Recruitment and Retention, Talent Pathways) Pillar 2 Reflections
• Pillar 3: North Star (College & Career Readiness, Post-CRR Pathways, Support Pathways, Career Coaching, High-Quality Curriculum) Pillar 3 Reflections
• Pillar 4: Student Supports (Behavioral and mental health, Special Education, English language learners, Students experiencing homelessness, Communities experiencing poverty, Community Schools) Pillar 4 Reflections

You are also welcome to email us directly at the link in the box below.

The Blueprint Quarterly - Issue I The Blueprint Quarterly - Issue V

The Blueprint Quarterly - Issue II The Blueprint Quarterly - Issue VI

The Blueprint Quarterly - Issue III The Blueprint Quarterly - Issue VII

The Blueprint Quarterly - Issue IV The Blueprint Quarterly - Issue VIII