#37 Guest: Governance & Accountability (Anne Arundel County Supt) | Dr. Mark Bedell, Dr. Shannon Pugh , Mr. Matt Stanski

In 2022, Anne Arundel County Public Schools had one National Merit semifinalist. They have nine now. A record 15 schools earned five-star ratings, and 95% of schools earned three stars or better. Graduation rate up two straight years to 80.9%. Grades 3 to 8 ELA and math both above the state average and climbing four years running.   In this episode of 𝑰𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝑬𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, Superintendent Dr. Mark Bedell, Dr. Shannon Pugh, and CFO Matt Stanski walk through the governance work behind those numbers.   Three things I keep coming back to:   1. One plan, not six. Bedell's opening question to Pugh was "tell me how I'm going to use the Blueprint to meet our goals." The strategic plan, Blueprint, and the ESSA consolidated grant now sit inside a single story instead of six offices assembling separate ones.   2. The career ladder as a staffing strategy. Pugh believes Anne Arundel is the only Maryland district that opted into the state's full optional list of identified schools. About two dozen nationally board-certified teachers have since moved into them, drawn by an additional $7,000. She does not call them low-performing schools. She calls them Blueprint schools.   3. Money attributed where it is actually earned. Stanski's team pushed fixed charges (health insurance, pension, Social Security) down to every school and department and hit their 75% target this year. The same third-grade classroom can cost roughly $63,000 or well north of $120,000, depending on who is standing in it. You cannot have an honest equity conversation without that math.   The moment that stayed with me was smaller. A community schools program manager called for permission to buy a student a second inhaler, because the family's insurance covered one and the child had to stay home without one to keep at school. He was back in class the next day. Multiply that by 48 community schools.   "We're not here to play school. We're here to have school." - Superintendent Dr. Mark Bedell