Maryland education officials plan to hire 61 regional and school-specific literacy and math coaches to help the state’s teachers.
The Maryland State Department of Education said Monday that it will recruit, hire and train 52 literacy coaches who will be based in specific schools, five regionally focused literacy coaches and four regionally focused math coaches.
Prince George’s County will receive one region-specific literacy and 17 school-specific coaches.
The other 35 school-specific and four regional literacy coaches will be assigned to help teachers across the rest of the state. Education officials did not say how the four regional math coaches would be assigned.
The assignment of coaches to Prince George’s County Public Schools builds on a philanthropy-backed, teacher coaching pilot program launched in late January that assigned seven coaches to support teaching kids how to read at 14 county schools.
At the time that the Prince George’s pilot was announced, the state Education Department said the county school system would get 15 additional coaches by fall 2026.
Education officials did not specify whether the 18 new coaches include the 15 they previously mentioned or whether the two pools of coaches are separate.
Officials said coaches will be assigned to specific schools and regions based on three factors:
• The performance of third-graders on Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program English language arts and math tests over the previous three years.
• The percentage of teachers and other staff with conditional licenses.
• The performance of special education and “multilingual learners.”
Maryland defines “multilingual learners” as children who communicate in a non-English language, whose families use a non-English language as the primary language at home or whose English proficiency “falls within the range established by the State for an English language development program.”
During the 2024-2025 academic year, 50% of Maryland third-graders scored as proficient on the state English language arts test, a 3.5% year-over-year increase, while 42% scored as proficient on the state math test, a 2% year-over-year increase, according to a state report.
State Superintendent of Schools Carey Wright compared the coaching teachers will receive to that received by athletes.
“Coaching works as well for teachers as it does for athletes. Both teachers and athletes rely on practice, feedback and continuous improvement. … A coach helps to refine your skills and strategies for optimal performance,” Ms. Wright said in the department’s announcement.
