The Blueprint Quarterly

Hello! My name is Dr. Sarah Sirgo and I am the Chief of Staff and Blueprint Implementation Coordinator for FCPS! Welcome to the 4th issue of The Blueprint Quarterly--a communication tool dedicated to providing our students, staff, families, and community members up to date information about the Frederick County Public Schools Blueprint implementation. We have been busy at work over the last quarter, and this issue takes a closer look at what we have been pursuing. Thanks for reading along and joining us in our efforts! You can also click on the link below to explore our FCPS Blueprint Website!

Beginning in the 2024-25 school year, FCPS launched an upgraded system Strategic Plan. Ensuring alignment to the FCPS Strategic Plan, the system’s Blueprint Plan submissions detail the explicit steps that will be taken to realize the vision of the five pillar areas. For the most current information pertaining to FCPS’s Blueprint Plans, click here.

Previous Charge of System Improvement Teams

In FCPS, to better align the Blueprint work with our system’s work, we have shifted from five separate workgroups to a more cohesive and project-based approach in all of our related endeavors. One of our key approaches is our districtwide System Improvement Team. Last year, their charge was to:

• Review each pillar’s implementation plan.

• Evaluate schedules, human resources, curriculum resources, and school structures and processes that best support Blueprint implementation recommendations.

• Consider adjustments to enhance the organizational culture of achievement in schools, upgrade the student and staff experience, maximize safety and well being, and align to Blueprint implementation.

Leveled teams met quarterly to recommend strategies and actions to support the aforementioned charge.. These groups worked to synthesize each of the separate Blueprint Pillar teams. They were charged with ensuring cohesion in systemic planning. Teams included representatives from each department in the ACTS division, school principal and assistant principal representatives, and teacher representatives. Teams were co-chaired by a leveled director and principal. ACTS Division Leaders sought feedback from students at all levels in the 2023-24 school year, generally pertaining to the teaching and learning experience in their schools. The student voice feedback was reviewed at the end of last school year. More information about the themes that emerged from the student listening sessions.

Current Charge of System Improvement Teams

In the 2024-25 school year, System Improvement Teams will continue to gather and identify potential changes that may be needed to fully realize the state’s Blueprint vision. An important first step will be to recognize fiscal constraints and identify possible solutions in reallocation of resources. To this end, Dr. Dyson, FCPS Superintendent, will join the first meeting to hear from this important stakeholder group in FCPS. The primary work of each leveled group will focus on:

• Detailing plans to trial 60/40 implementation (Employee Support and Development)

• Identifying personalized pathways to yield successful student outcomes (The Learning Journey)

• Cost neutral efficiencies to achieve our goals (Strategic Oversight, Funding and Resource Allocation)

A summary of where FCPS is currently situated in this work and a more detailed agenda for future meetings will be forthcoming.

Meeting Dates

• Wednesday, October 30, 2024, 1:00-4:00 p.m., Learning & Leadership Center (LLC)

• Friday, January 3, 2025, 1:00-4:00 p.m., Learning & Leadership Center (LLC)

• Friday, March 7, 2025, 1:00-4:00 p.m., Learning & Leadership Center (LLC)

• Tuesday, May 6, 2025, 1:00-4:00 p.m., Learning & Leadership Center (LLC)

For the past three years we have continued to build out multiple mechanisms to keep our staff, students, & communinty members engaged in our Blueprint work.

• Year 1 (2022-2023): Blueprint Pillar Overview Videos
• Year 2 (2023-2024): Blueprint Unlocked Podcast Videos
• Year 3 (2024-2025): Blueprint in Action Features (*coming soon in 2025)

Our goal is to bring you updates and information what Blueprint efforts look like in FCPS to support your understanding and advocacy. Stay tuned for more updates!

One of the areas we would like to expand is collecting more direct feedback from staff, students, and community members about their experience with Blueprint. Stay tuned for more information and the opportunity to provide your insights into this work in FCPS!

You are invited to review the latest legislative reports submitted by FCPS, to the Accountability and Implementation Board (AIB), demonstrating progress being made in the coordination and implementation of the Blueprint in our schools. They are linked on the Stakeholder Resources page of the FCPS Blueprint website.

The MSDE reviewed an update on the implementation of the Pre-K Mixed Delivery System in the Blueprint for Maryland's Future, as well as reviewing a scan of national and state trends related to Cell Phone Use in Schools. A draft of a new Comprehensive K-3 Literacy Policy was also shared. The State Board will consider adoption of the proposed Literacy Policy in October after deliberation of substantial feedback from stakeholders.

Doreen Bass serves as the district’s Grant Management Specialist. In this position, she is responsible for helping school-based and Central Office staff identify and secure external funding to support FCPS programs. Ms. Bass has been with FCPS since 2000, and has over 35 years of experience in federal grant development and management in the area of K-20 education. Ms. Bass earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of Maryland and a Master of Arts degree in International Relations, also from the University of Maryland. Outside of FCPS, Ms. Bass is active in her church and serves as the Lay Leader for the Frederick District of the Baltimore-Washington United Methodist Church.

Ms. Bass is an essential leader in our work to coordinate and refine our Blueprint reporting, having a key role in reviewing our reporting, ensuring alignment to the criteria for success, and responding to all aspects of our systemwide accountability. Her expertise in project management and breadth of knowledge have been critical to the Blueprint work!

The University of Maryland College of Education’s Maryland Equity Project (MEP) seeks to improve public education through research that supports an informed public policy debate about the quality and distribution of educational opportunities in Maryland and nationally. They have been authoring a series on The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future to support districts in their efforts to plan and implement Blueprint initiatives through information-sharing and research-based recommendations. To check out the full compliment of reports, check out this link HERE .

This month, the topic of focus was on funding and titled, "WITH LARGE BLUEPRINT INVESTMENTS IN EDUCATION, WHY ARE SOME MARYLAND DISTRICTS STRUGGLING TO FUND THEIR SCHOOLS?" Some key points of interest:

• In Maryland, funds from federal, state, and local governments are allocated to districts, who are responsible for distributing them to schools. To ensure that districts distribute funds to schools as intended, the state implemented a minimum school funding requirement through the Blueprint.
• This policy, which went into effect on July 1, 2024, requires that districts allocate at least 75% of the per-pupil funds a student receives to the school that student attends.
• Despite increased state and local investments in education under the Blueprint, evidence suggests that funding challenges lay ahead.

While FCPS has been recognized for its strong fiscal and reporting structures, we will continue to be part of the statewide efforts to improve transparency and accountability with Blueprint spending. In addition to the minimum school funding requirement, districts must report how they are spending Blueprint money in a new system developed by MSDE and the AIB.

We will continue to work with our Board of Education and County Government to support all of the Blueprint requirements and ensure transparency and accountability in the process.

Prekindergarten expansion for private providers off to a slow start - No county reached goal of 30% for private providers; few have even reached new, lower goal of 10%.

Blueprint board extends special education work group for another six months - The board charged with implementing the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future is giving a special education work group until May 30 to finish its work, well beyond the Dec. 1 target for the group to prepare recommendations for lawmakers.

Cell phone roulette: Students face a jumble of restrictions in state's schools - While some states are moving toward statewide policies on cell phones, Maryland restrictions vary by county, although there seems to be general agreement that phones at school are not conducive to learning.

Despite struggles, it's back to school for Maryland's homeless, too - Thousands of Maryland students, prekindergarten through high school, are expected to be homeless at some point, if not most of, this school year. Help is on the way, but it will take time.

Deadline looms for MD to obligate federal money for schools - MD has about $779M left to designate money for public schools.

MSDE Awarded $40M from US Department of Education to Improve Literacy Instruction - MSDE announced a $40.3 million, five-year grant award from the U.S. Department of Education, part of $149 million in federal funds to support initiatives focused on third-grade literacy proficiency across 23 states.

State Assessment Scores Hold Steady in Mathematics and English Language Arts - Results from the MCAP for the 2023-2024 school year showed modest increases statewide in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics scores.

Update on ESSER III Funds - MSDE has diligently invested federal pandemic recovery funds over the past four years, with the expectation to spend all ESSER III funds as with previous rounds.

Send us your thoughts on the FCPS implementation of the Blueprint by clicking 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.

• Action Area 1 - The Learning Journey Pillar 1 Reflections
• Action Area 2 - Employee Support and Development Pillar 2 Reflections
• Action Area 3 - Student, School and Community Support and Engagement Pillar 3 Reflections
• Action Area 4 - Strategic Oversight, Funding & Resource Allocation Pillar 4 Reflections

You are also welcome to email us directly by clicking the box below.

We welcome your feedback on this newsletter or comments about our Blueprint work. This email address is not interactive, but is reviewed regularly by staff and used in our continued work to refine our FCPS implementation.

The Blueprint Quarterly - Issue 1

The Blueprint Quarterly - Issue 2

The Blueprint Quarterly - Issue 3

The Blueprint Quarterly - Issue 4