Joint Commission on the Opportunity Gap
The JCOG was created by Executive Order in May 2021 to further the work of the Joint Initiative to Eliminate the Opportunity Gap, a partnership with Anne Arundel County Public schools which commenced in September 2019 and resulted in four priority recommendations, 14 goals, and 78 potential strategies. The report was formally presented to the public in November 2020.
About the Commission
The commission is composed of 15 appointed members representing the County, school system and community and is the result of a collaborative effort to meet the first priority recommendation in the Joint Initiative to Eliminate the Opportunity Gap report. The Commission is empowered to provide ongoing review and oversight of structural and systemic racism that contributes to the opportunity gap in AACPS and the County, and to recommend changes to address equity issues in academics and discipline. It is charged, specifically, with monitoring progress toward meeting the remaining three priority recommendations including:
- Engaging government agencies and community partners to mitigate the effects of social determinants of education in low income communities, thereby increasing readiness for school and achievement throughout school,
- Increasing transparency and accountability by improving the public’s ability to locate, read, and interpret available reports on progress toward opportunity gap goals, and
- Establishing a practice within the Board of Education, the AACPS Central Office, the Anne Arundel County Government, and the Anne Arundel County Council of preparing a documented equity analysis to accompany all proposed policies and decisions.