State Funding Per Pupil
The state’s per-pupil funding for Harford County Public Schools increased 41.6% between fiscal 2019 and fiscal 2024. That’s the third largest increase among all 24 Maryland public school districts.
Per-pupil funding is based on a formula that utilizes the district’s total enrollment and the characteristics of its students. It’s too soon to know what the per-pupil funding level will be in the later years of the Blueprint.
Here’s the district’s initial Blueprint Implementation Plan. And here’s what the state Accountability and Implementation Board – which oversees the Blueprint – had to say about Harford County Public Schools’ Blueprint Implementation Plan:
Strengths:
- Through its “Talent Pathways Grow Your Own” project, Harford plans to create a model school to test out new programs and practices that emphasize equity. If this is successful, the model might be used for other schools across the state.
- Harford has done well in recruiting and retaining teachers. District officials have created a new job, “diversity retention and recruitment specialist,” to focus on getting more young people to become educators, helping educators move up in their careers, and welcoming people looking to change careers into education.
- Harford has strong partnerships with universities (Towson and Notre Dame of Maryland) for preparing teachers, professional development, and a new Bachelor of Arts program for child development associate certification holders.
- Harford has an updated literacy plan that uses the same tools and materials in all schools within the district, and those reading strategies are also used in other subjects.
- Harford is examining all instructional materials to make sure they are fair for everyone.
- Harford currently has a substantial program for high school students to take college classes, which includes earning college credits in career and technical education subjects.
Needs improvement:
- Harford has done well in creating more room for pre-K programs in schools, but does not have a clear strategy for growing its connection with private preschools.
- Harford’s career ladder plan focuses on National Board Certification and union negotiations, but lacks a strategy for reorganizing schools to enhance teaching roles and improve student learning. The district could benefit from guidance to develop a more comprehensive career ladder that emphasizes teacher leadership and goes beyond National Board Certification and salary incentives.
- Although Harford has a math plan, it needs to be updated to fit the Blueprint’s goals and the district’s literacy program.
- It’s unclear how Harford’s plan to support students not on track to graduate is connected with its college and career-readiness efforts. The main priority should be making sure that students have the English and math skills to move on to college or careers.
– Matthew Watson