The kids are back in school. Hallelujah!
My kids would roll their eyes in response, but they’re 14. They do that to everything I say. I’m convinced that even they, like most kids, get a sense that things are in order when they are back in school.
Walking into classes at South Shore Elementary with Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS) Superintendent Dr. Mark Bedell on Monday, and seeing engaged kids, happy teachers, and hard-working administrators certainly gave me a sense of wellness and order. I just wish that my admiration and confidence in the institution were universal. It’s not. There’s a movement out there seeking to sow distrust in public schools across the country, and that’s unfortunate. Trust is, in my experience, the essential ingredient in a learning environment.
Horses don’t learn if they don’t trust their trainers, riders don’t learn if they don’t trust their instructors, and students don’t learn if they don’t trust their teachers and the environment that is their school and school system. Building trust takes time. Losing it happens quickly.
It’s easier for teachers to build trust with their students when parents trust teachers and schools. What follows are four reasons why I think parents should trust schools in Anne Arundel County.
First, we as a county have chosen to invest in schools. After a period of neglect, we started fully funding the Board of Education’s Capital Budget and increasing the Operating Budget more aggressively than most of our neighbors. One result was that we rose from the 19th to the 4th highest starting teacher salary of 24 Maryland jurisdictions this year, and raised bus driver salaries by 20% over two years. That’s why we were able to cut day-one teacher vacancies in half this year over last, and started the year with a driver for every school bus. Those things make a difference on the first day of school, and they build trust.
Second, Maryland has a plan to become one of the best school systems not only in the country, but in the world. The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future is ambitious, but we now have both a General Assembly and a Governor fully committed to its pillars: Early Childhood Education, High Quality and Diverse Teachers and Leaders, College and Career Readiness, More Resources for Students to be Successful, and Governance and Accountability. A bunch of fancy words, right? But what matters is that it’s a commitment shared by enough of our leaders that it will happen. As it does, trust will grow.
Third, we have a new AACPS Superintendent who can lead. Dr. Mark Bedell is starting his second year with a list of accomplishments and a following that is winning support across the political spectrum and deep within the institution. His willingness to try new things and his unwillingness to accept mediocrity are building trust.
Fourth, we have a Board of Education majority that does the right thing. So many school systems across the country are being dominated or divided by a political movement against diversity - diversity of thought, religion, race, origin, and sexual orientation. Our Board has rejected those efforts to instill fear in parents and students, and is committed to building trust through equity, diversity, and inclusion. That means all kids, including your kid, are respected.
Academics who study the viability of humanity on this planet tell us that threats include pandemics, wars, climate change, biodiversity loss, and a disinformation-driven unraveling of the values that connect us. Our future depends on the next generation solving problems, cooperating with one another across the planet, and confronting these threats. Going from a home environment to a school environment is a first step to get there, into something bigger, into community, into diversity, and into opportunity.
That’s why Back to School is so damn exciting. Back to solving the world’s problems. Back to building our future.
Until next week…
Steuart Pittman
Anne Arundel County Executive