Voice your ideas about transforming education for immigrant and English language learning students with co-hosts Community WELL and State Superintendent of Schools, Mohammed Choudhury and the Maryland State Department of Education!
This is a virtual event hosted online on Zoom.
Dear Students and Parents/Guardians of English Language Learners and Teachers in Maryland Public Schools,
Community Workgroup on English Language Learners (WELL) and Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) invite you to join us and voice your needs and ideas on how Maryland can improve education programming and services in schools for immigrant children and families. Members of Community WELL and our new state superintendent, Mohammed Choudhury, and his staff will be there to speak directly with you in small breakout groups.
MSDE is currently developing its first Strategic Plan and is facilitating the Blueprint Workgroup on English Language Learners. MSDE is partnering with community and advocacy organizations to ensure that the most impacted individuals and communities are at the forefront of the effort to set a new course for our public schools in Maryland.
Plans like the Blueprint come around once in a generation. The time is NOW to ensure equity and excellence for all students in Maryland! Please RSVP and share this with immigrant and English language learning families statewide!
-Members of Community WELL and MSDE
BACKGROUND
Who is Community WELL?
We are a coalition of over 30 individuals and organizations, including service providers, advocacy organizations, policy experts, and community groups that provide services to immigrant students and families, and engage them on important education policy matters. Our primary goal is to ensure that the Blueprint Workgroup on ELLs’ recommendations include comprehensive, inclusive, and transformative education policies and practices for immigrant students and families, as MSDE and the Blueprint's Accountability and Implementation Board (AIB) move forward with the implementation of new policies and reforms outlined in the $3.8 billion Blueprint plan for our public schools.
Our approach to accomplish our goal is by ensuring that impacted community members are at the decision-making table and that the MSDE and the Blueprint Workgroup on ELLs are partnering with the community in a robust and authentic way.
Like our Facebook page! And join our team! Email us at CommunityWELLMD@gmail.com.
What is the Blueprint for Maryland's Future?
In 2021, the Maryland legislature passed the "Blueprint for Maryland's Future", a $3.8 billion education reform plan that will provide PreK and other early learning resources, new college and career programs, more services for healthcare and mental health, more funding for academic support and wrap around services, and more funding and support for teachers. This law also established the Blueprint Workgroup on English Language Learners, which is charged with "collecting data on English Language Learners in the state, reviewing national research and current practices, and making recommendations to improve the education of English learners in the state." The Workgroup is chaired by Maryland's new superintendent, Mohammed Choudhury. MSDE is also developing a new Strategic Plan to chart a new path forward for public education in Maryland -- the first of its kind for the department. They are asking for your input as they proceed.
