Baltimore Schools Focus on Individual Student Plans in Learning Recovery

Baltimore has organized its plan for support around a strong commitment to a core curriculum and to grade level content. They have among the most coherent academic strategies in the country. Tutoring is not a random activity but a component of a thoughtful strategy.

Baltimore’s plan outlines detailed strategies to build on successful practices to personalize learning – such as connecting students virtually to hard-to-staff courses or providing flexible scheduling opportunities for older students balancing school and work. The approach also includes a deep commitment to aligning virtual offerings with teacher and family training centered on the instructional core. Further, the plan details city leaders’ efforts to engage with the whole community to understand what has been working and where improvement is needed to continually inform the path forward.

This is a district with top-notch leadership that is thinking strategically about the best use of resources to maximize learning for students. - Dr. Eyal Bergman

Agreed that the investment in paraprofessionals makes this idea strong and worth following.

Individualized education plans for all students would allow educators to understand the specific needs of each child they serve and how to address those needs - the focus on academic, social, and emotional is important. The state should consider how they’ll support school leaders in implementing this plan, including direct support of teachers in their schools.

86% of American families want individualized education plans for their children and high quality tutoring. This is responsive to what parents and families have asked for while also incorporating best practices around small group instruction while focusing on acceleration instead of simple remediation. This also looks like the first steps into reimagining the system! Love this. - Keri Rodrigues

The strategies mentioned in the plan such as small group instruction, investing in paraprofessionals, and providing flex scheduling for older students have been shown to benefit English learners.

The focus on small group instruction to address unfinished learning and the concept of individualized plans for each student is innovative.

Customizing a student learning plan to the measured and unique needs of students is an impressive and necessary undertaking for the district. - Matt Shaver

Baltimore’s plan uses data in several ways to meet the needs of individual students. Using multiple types of data to identify students who could benefit from additional support and then developing an individual plan for each student based on their needs is a best practice.

It is encouraging to see the district leveraging its paraprofessionals in service of getting students back on track. The focus on foundational literacy skills is smart and appropriate.