The Blueprint for Maryland's Future is well underway, with districts across the state implementating various aspects of the plan, including teacher career ladders. Postdoctoral Associate Pamela Callahan penned an op-ed encouraging the Accountability and Implementation Board to call a timeout to determine if early approved career ladders match the goals of the Blueprint as well as the spirit of the Kirwan Commission, which imagined the career ladder as a fundamental shift in pathways for career advancement, access to professional development and role differentiation for teachers.
It is clear that districts worked hard on the current career ladder models, and the process of transforming teaching positions is challenging, but the approved career ladder models don’t yet represent the transformative change envisioned by the Kirwan Commission and Blueprint. Few, if any, do much to transform their salary structures, increase the attractiveness of the profession or embed meaningful and robust professional learning directly into their career ladder systems.
If the teacher career-ladder models do not lead to true innovation and high-quality instruction for every student, then it is unlikely other components of the Blueprint will be as successful as they could be.
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