by Taylor Adams ‘27

The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) is implementing a new curriculum approach, beginning in the 2027-2028 school year, that will move away from school districts in the state creating their own curriculums and materials for English Language Arts (ELA) classes in high school. MCPS will post a request for proposals from vendors that produce and sell curriculum materials. The redesign will be for on-level and honors courses in grades 9-12. 

“Overall, I’m hoping this shift has a positive impact on student achievement, as this should always be our focus,” said English department head Lynnette Evans-Williams. The curriculum will be a base for teachers to follow while allowing them to adjust lessons and materials to accommodate students and their strengths. 

The MSDE has been attempting to amend the curriculums in schools to assist the learning of students for a long time, specifically multilingual students and those who struggle with reading disabilities. Since 2013, Maryland students have declined in reading performance. The reform started as early as 2022, when MSDE provided MCPS with detailed feedback on its existing curriculum. This decision to change curriculum operations comes from MSDE finding that materials created or selected by teachers were generally less likely to meet the state’s standards of high-quality instructional materials (HQIM). Over the coming months, MCPS will follow the MSDE guidelines during a multi-stage process to choose one curriculum to present to the MCPS Board of Education for approval for use next school year.  

Another goal the MDSE hopes to accomplish with this change is to provide teachers with more time in instruction and collaboration rather than creating a curriculum and materials. “I don’t know if it’s necessarily free time, but the focus of our time may shift,” said Evans-Williams. 

The scale of the changes that will be made is still uncertain, and will remain unknown until curriculums are purchased and put into place. It’s likely that the books students read in English classes will be changed, though there are concerns about the cost of buying multiple sets of new books across MCPS. 

Some teachers are excited for the opportunity to teach new material. “There are so many books out there that we could also be teaching, and it’ll be a refreshing new perspective,” said English teacher Christiane Lock.