UMGC Partners with St. Mary’s Public Schools to Prepare Teachers

The mission of University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) is to inspire hope, empower dreams and transform lives. In alignment with those goals, faculty in UMGC's Department of Education recently completed an 18-month partnership with St. Mary's County Public Schools (SMCPS) to boost the number of certified teachers.

An innovative partnership between University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) and St. Mary's County Public Schools in Maryland could serve as a model for helping to address the nationwide teacher's shortage.

In an 18-month pilot program through UMGC's Master of Arts in Teaching program, schools in St. Mary's County had access to GoReact technology-a video observation tool-to coach early career teachers. The teachers received focused and individualized feedback. At UMGC, GoReact is used in all Master of Arts in Teaching courses,

"Much like athletic coaches use 'game film' to break down key plays, video observation provides the teachers an opportunity to see the classroom interactions from a new perspective, analyze their own actions and document progress over time,"saidMonica Simonsen, program director of UMGC's education department. "This pilot program gave us the opportunity to explore the impact on early career teachers with the ultimate goal of improving teacher efficacy and retention, as well as student outcomes."

Using GoReact, experienced teachers in the St. Mary's public school system served as mentors for early career teachers. The program, which started in spring 2023, set up 13 pairs of mentors and early career teachers. The mentors observed classroom instruction and offered asynchronous feedback. During the 2023-2024 school year, 18 additional pairs of mentors and early career teachers joined the program.

Throughout the academic year, the early career teachers posted 188 videos in GoReact. In addition, more than 3,000 reflective feedback comments were shared between mentors and early career teachers.

Janetta Ellis, a seventh-grade life science teacher at Esperanza Middle School, received coaching support through the initiative.

"I had the opportunity to reflect on my teaching style and student-teacher interactions and make necessary adjustments," she said. "Engaging in classroom discussions and one-on-one interactions allowed me to witness my own growth and reignite enthusiasm in the classroom."

Ellis is currently pursuing a master's degree in teaching at UMGC.

A strong plus of the program for Donna D. Waldron, a teacher who served as a mentor, was the ability to provide immediate advice to early career teachers. Waldron teachers middle school math at Esperanza Middle School.

"I was able to see what my mentee was doing, point it out on the video, and they can actually see what I am referring to in the video," said Waldron. "Plus, it was automatic feedback and, as a mentor, I could easily point out positive and negative aspects of what the mentee is doing."

Faculty from UMGC's Department of Education supervised the program, provided training and technical support, and helped the school system identify ways to sustain the model and build a wider and more diverse pipeline of well-prepared educators. The partnership was funded by the Maryland State Department of Education. St. Mary's County Public Schools received $164,000 in combination with the Maryland Leads Initiative.

"When planning for the grant, I coordinated with UMGC to enroll conditionally certified teachers in the Master of Arts in Teaching [program] and determine the parameters of the virtual coaching experience," said Heather Husk, instructional resource teacher for induction and mentoring with the St. Mary's County schools.

As part of the partnership, 14 scholarships were awarded to St. Mary's County school employees who wish to become certified teachers.

An estimated 730,000 jobs in education were vacated during the first three months of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the U.S. Department of Education. In response to the continuing teacher shortage, the Department of Education has called for changes in the teacher recruitment system, including expanded access to high-quality and affordable educator preparation.

Educator programs like the one between UMGC and the St. Mary's County schools also promise to improve diversity among the ranks of teachers.

"The percentage of first-year teachers who are Black/African American or Hispanic/Latino has more than doubled in the past ten years, reaching 30% and 8%, respectively. However, more than half of first-year teachers in Maryland are white," according to the 2024 Maryland's Teacher Workforce: Supply, Demand, and Diversity report. The report was prepared by the Maryland State Department of Education and made public in May by Maryland State Superintendent of Schools Carey M. Wright. The U.S. Department of Education noted that the teacher shortfall has disproportionately impacted students of color, students with disabilities and English learners.

The UMGC collaboration received positive feedback from early career teachers, and 100 percent of the participants showed growth in their self-efficacy over the course of the project.

"The best part of the program was forming stronger, productive and career-enhancing relationships with my mentors. I just feel so much more equipped to teach and confident in myself," added Rachel Meador, a middle school chorus and general music teacher.

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